Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Stonegate Investment Group LLC's 4th Largest Position

Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 439,449 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 7,107 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.4% of Stonegate Investment Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Stonegate Investment Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $164,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fosun International Ltd boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $524.03. 13,043,612 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,325,803. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $488.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% 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 Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.