NovaPoint Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

NovaPoint Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,966 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.0% of NovaPoint Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $520.17 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $502.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $441.01.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two 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, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.