Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 29,325 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Cozad Asset Management Inc. has cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 52.2%, reducing its holdings to 26,869 shares during the first quarter.
• Microsoft's stock recently fell 2.6%, trading at $495.00, with a market cap of $3.68 trillion and a P/E ratio of 36.29.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, reflecting a 0.7% yield with a dividend payout ratio of 24.34%.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 52.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,869 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 29,325 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.0% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Cozad Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $12.97 on Friday, hitting $495.00. The stock had a trading volume of 31,963,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,697,988. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $509.93 and a 200 day moving average of $450.85. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

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.