Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 3,041 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates Inc. sold 3,041 shares of Microsoft, reducing its stake by 0.9%, and now holds 324,854 shares valued at $121,947,000, making Microsoft its third largest holding.
• Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with a payout ratio of 24.34%, to be paid on September 11th to shareholders of record as of August 21st.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Microsoft, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising theirs from $581.00 to $639.00, reflecting strong confidence in the company's performance.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 324,854 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,041 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.0% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $121,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after buying an additional 46,579,693 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after buying an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 8,850 shares of company stock valued at $4,406,512 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $505.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $504.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $442.81.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

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.

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