Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation by 3.2%, now holding 185,841 shares, which represent 4.5% of their investment portfolio and are valued at approximately $69.76 million.
• Analysts have set a new consensus price target for Microsoft of $609.86, with ratings varying from "hold" to "buy," indicating strong market confidence in the stock's performance.
• Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, set to be paid on September 11, 2023, with a yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 24.34%.

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,841 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,130 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.5% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $69,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,350 shares of company stock worth $14,162,567. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded down $7.4250 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $509.6750. 12,654,787 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,237,453. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $503.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $441.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's 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.