Eagle Strategies LLC Trims Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Eagle Strategies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,625 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $524.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $489.94 and its 200 day moving average is $434.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Bank of America raised their price target on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson raised their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, 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 90 days, insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.