Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Has $18.38 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,973 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,423 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,850 shares of company stock worth $4,406,512. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $509.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $504.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $442.37.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 is currently 24.34%.

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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