Aua Capital Management LLC Has $3.43 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aua Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,144 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.0% of Aua Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Aua Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $87,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $452.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $422.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $408.83. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $456.17.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three 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 target price of $467.12.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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