Wealthquest Corp Sells 86 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wealthquest Corp decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,053 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.5% of Wealthquest Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Wealthquest Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 25,001 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,996,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the first quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 11,951 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,445,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 844,299 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $202,480,000 after acquiring an additional 11,563 shares during the last quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 200,299 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $48,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $13,999,000. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total value of $418,462.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,588.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total value of $418,462.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,588.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $322.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $213.43 and a 52 week high of $366.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.96.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 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 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.68.

Microsoft Profile

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.