Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Lowered by Curbstone Financial Management Corp

Curbstone Financial Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,824 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.1% of Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 5.7% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 38,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares in the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 9.9% during the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 7,156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 21,864 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,199,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. now owns 13,310 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 226.1% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $449.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $419.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $407.17. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $450.94.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective on the stock. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

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.