Balentine LLC Purchases 2,578 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Balentine LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 67.7% during the first quarter, now owning 6,384 shares worth approximately $2.396 million.
• Microsoft's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $3.65 EPS against a consensus of $3.35, with revenues of $76.44 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 24.34%.

Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 67.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,384 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Balentine LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6%

Microsoft stock opened at $506.69 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $508.77 and its 200 day moving average is $447.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

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.

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