Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,358 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.6% of Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 1,516 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,577 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 4,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 7,166 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $329.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $326.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $324.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $213.43 and a 1-year high of $366.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. HSBC raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $347.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.