SageGuard Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• SageGuard Financial Group cut its Microsoft stake by 5.7% in the first quarter, selling 3,044 shares and leaving it with 50,253 shares worth about $18.6 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $560.98.

SageGuard Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,253 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,044 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.9% of SageGuard Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. SageGuard Financial Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $383.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $404.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $415.50. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is shifting more Excel and Outlook AI prompts to its own MAI models instead of relying on OpenAI and Anthropic, a move that could reduce AI costs and improve long-term profitability. Microsoft joins AI cost-cutting trend by relying more on its own models
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and market commentators argue Microsoft is trading at a rare discount after its recent pullback, suggesting some investors see the sell-off as a buying opportunity ahead of earnings later this month. Microsoft (MSFT) Is Trading at a Rare Discount. I See a Buying Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced it will report fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results on July 29, keeping attention on cloud growth, AI spending, and whether margin pressure is easing. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft continues to get positive attention from some market voices, including CNBC’s “Final Trades,” but this is more sentiment support than a direct fundamental catalyst. Nvidia, Microsoft, ServiceNow And More On CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s Xbox unit is facing a deep reset, including roughly 3,200 job cuts and studio divestitures, reinforcing concerns that parts of the business are struggling and that layoffs may not be done yet. Microsoft’s Xbox to Cut 3200 Jobs, Divest Five Studios in Major Overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also dealing with multiple shareholder lawsuits and deadline reminders tied to alleged securities fraud and Copilot-related disclosures, which adds an overhang on sentiment. MSFT Investment Loss: Microsoft Investors that Lost Money after Copilot Functionality Issues Disclosed are Notified to Contact BFA Law about the Filed Securities Fraud Class Action

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. President Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.98.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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