Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s Largest Position

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 352,135 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 11,588 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.9% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $132,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Constant Guidance Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $633,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 701,305 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $221,437,000 after buying an additional 48,944 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004,612 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $317,206,000 after buying an additional 68,848 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.05.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $414.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

About Microsoft

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.