Kestra Advisory Services LLC Purchases 90,639 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,061,804 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 90,639 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.5% of Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $393,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 4.9% in the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.40.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $381.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $399.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $408.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.7 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. 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 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

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).