Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Decreased by Clarus Group Inc.

Clarus Group Inc. trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,052 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,981 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.3% of Clarus Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Clarus Group Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $522.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $438.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share 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 quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

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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