Guardian Investment Management Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Guardian Investment Management reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 19.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,494 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,271 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.9% of Guardian Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Guardian Investment Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $502.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $441.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital upped their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company 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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