Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation by 3.2% in Q1, holding 263,474 shares valued at approximately $98.9 million, making it its largest investment.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Microsoft during the same period, including North Point Portfolio Managers Corp, which raised its holdings by 578.8%.
• Microsoft's recent earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $3.65 EPS on revenue of $76.44 billion, up 18.1% year-over-year, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 with a yield of 0.65%.

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,474 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,735 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 6.5% of Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $98,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,331,950. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $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 yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.