Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lowered by Navalign LLC

Navalign LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,723 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.9% of Navalign LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 145.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,601 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,094,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $989,814,000. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 8,968 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,773,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 3,371 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,101 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $446.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $424.11 and its 200-day moving average is $409.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $456.17. The company has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.