Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Sells 683 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,185 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 683 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.2% of Stonebridge Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Prakash Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Prakash Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. now owns 1,592 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 11,782 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,423,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,096 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,054,000 after purchasing an additional 8,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.3% during the first quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 36,610 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,464,000 after buying an additional 12,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $521.77 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $498.05 and its 200 day moving average is $438.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Profile

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.