Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Trimmed by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 100,371 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 13,812 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.2% of Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC boosted 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

MSFT stock opened at $509.64 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $508.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $446.67. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.06. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Microsoft 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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