Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Decreased by Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft by 34.8% in the first quarter, reducing its holdings to 1,427 shares valued at approximately $536,000.
• Microsoft reported a EPS of $3.46 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.22, with revenue reaching $70.07 billion, surpassing the anticipated $68.54 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, payable on September 11th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.65%.

Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 34.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,427 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 760 shares during the quarter. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 143,085 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $53,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,312 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,120,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the first quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 10,142 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,807,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 176,015 shares of the software giant's stock worth $66,074,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 77,500 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,093,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,441,598. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $488.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush boosted their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.