Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Sells 2,957 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Legacy Capital Group California Inc. reduced its Microsoft stake by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,957 shares and leaving it with 9,933 shares worth about $4.8 million.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, both above analyst estimates and up 18.3% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock: analysts have a consensus Moderate Buy rating, and Microsoft also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share payable June 11.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,933 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,957 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.2% of Legacy Capital Group California Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MSFT opened at $423.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm's 50-day moving average is $398.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $439.92. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The OpenAI lawsuit defeat for Elon Musk clears a major legal overhang and is seen as helping Microsoft’s AI ecosystem and partner exposure. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a new, large Microsoft stake, reinforcing the view that some major investors see MSFT as undervalued relative to its AI growth prospects. MSFT Stock Alert: What to Know as Bill Ackman Adds Microsoft Position
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators highlighted Microsoft as a beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption, with Azure and Copilot demand still driving the long-term growth story. Microsoft Rides on Enterprise AI Advancements: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several fund updates showed mixed institutional activity, including notable purchases and trims, which points to continued debate over Microsoft’s near-term valuation rather than a clear change in fundamentals. Pershing Square boosts Microsoft stake with 5.65M shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines flagged potential pressure points, including worries that GitHub AI competition is intensifying and that higher AI infrastructure spending could weigh on margins. Microsoft (MSFT) Faces GitHub AI Crisis as OpenAI’s Codex and Rivals Catch Up

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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