Lansing Street Advisors Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Lansing Street Advisors grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,833 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.0% of Lansing Street Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Lansing Street Advisors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first 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 last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $21,493,447 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average price is $502.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $441.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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. 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%.

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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