Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Baugh & Associates LLC

Baugh & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,111 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.1% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $524.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $494.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $437.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.