Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Key Points

• Private Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft by 16.8%, now holding 5,715 shares worth $2,145,000 after selling 1,152 shares.
• Microsoft's stock recently traded up to $507.97 and has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, with a twelve-month high of $555.45.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Private Management Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,715 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,152 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fosun International Ltd grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Orin Green Financial LLC now owns 2,136 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.6%

MSFT stock traded down $12.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $495.00. The company had a trading volume of 31,963,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,259,959. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $509.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $450.01. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 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, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

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.