Rice Partnership LLC Sells 5,535 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Rice Partnership LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,583 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,535 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.7% of Rice Partnership LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth $3,245,000. Forte Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the first quarter. Forte Asset Management LLC now owns 12,254 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 31,480 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $11,818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,078,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,094 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,850 shares of company stock worth $4,406,512. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $504.24 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $505.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $443.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

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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