Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,402 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,927 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.3% of McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $557.46.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $402.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $400.07 and a 200-day moving average of $410.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced an expanded strategic partnership with AMD to deploy Helios systems across Azure, reinforcing its AI infrastructure buildout and giving the stock a near-term boost. Microsoft expands AMD partnership with Helios AI infrastructure deployment on Azure
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are framing Microsoft as attractively valued ahead of earnings, with some highlighting upside from Azure growth, AI execution, and Copilot adoption if management delivers strong commentary. Microsoft Stock Price Offers ‘Attractive Entry Point,’ Says Deutsche Bank Ahead of Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is approaching fiscal Q4 earnings on July 29, and investors are watching for updates on Azure growth, AI spending, and whether Copilot is gaining traction. Microsoft earnings to spotlight Azure growth, AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is also being weighed down by a new securities-fraud lawsuit tied to prior AI/Copilot disclosures, which could add legal and reputational overhang ahead of earnings. MSFT Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Microsoft Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit

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).