Main Street Research LLC Sells 100,665 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Main Street Research LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 59.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,542 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 100,665 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.5% of Main Street Research LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after buying an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its partnership with Databricks through the 2030s, deepening integrations across Azure, Microsoft 365, Teams and Copilot and reinforcing its cloud and AI ecosystem. Microsoft (MSFT) Expands Partnership with AI Firm Databricks
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also deepened ties with AI startup Mistral, adding another strategic AI partner and broadening its footprint in regulated industries and Europe. Microsoft and Mistral expand strategic partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft committed $60 million and Azure compute credits to the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Genesis Mission,” highlighting ongoing investment in AI-for-science initiatives and government relationships. Microsoft commits $60M to ‘Genesis Mission’
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained constructive, with Truist reiterating a buy rating and a $575 price target, suggesting substantial upside if earnings and AI demand remain solid. Analyst note on Microsoft

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. New Street Research cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, CLSA started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 target price for the company. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.40.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $381.58 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $399.01 and its 200-day moving average is $408.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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).