Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Decreased by Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC

Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,204 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,738 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.3% of Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Red Lighthouse Investment Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth 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 acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth 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 position in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth 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 worth $25,273,704,000 after buying an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $502.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $441.02.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $21,493,447. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

About Microsoft

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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