Eagle Strategies LLC Sells 765 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Eagle Strategies LLC reduced its Microsoft stock holding by 6.2%, selling 765 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 11,625 shares valued at approximately $4.36 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft, with various funds making adjustments to their positions, including Newton One Investments LLC increasing their stake by 66.7%.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Microsoft, with estimates now ranging from $545 to $650, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Eagle Strategies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,625 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,364,000 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 business. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $524.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $489.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.88. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 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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