Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Has $2.52 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 31.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,816 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,117 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.0% of Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft unveiled its first in-house cybersecurity AI model, MAI-Cyber-1-Flash, along with Project Perception, an agentic platform designed to detect and respond to AI-powered attacks. The products could strengthen Microsoft’s enterprise security position and create additional demand for Azure and security services. Microsoft launches AI cybersecurity model and defense platform
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained bullish ahead of earnings. Citizens JMP reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating with a $550 target, while Piper Sandler maintained an Overweight rating and a $540 target—well above Microsoft’s recent trading range. Microsoft stock moves higher
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanding partnerships and integrations across Azure, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot support the argument that its broad enterprise ecosystem can monetize AI spending over time. Morgan Stanley estimates major technology companies could achieve 25%–50% returns on AI investments. AI capital expenditure plans

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $393.35 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $397.04 and a 200-day moving average of $406.36. 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 twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, CLSA started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.73.

About Microsoft

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).