Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,465 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corundum Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 18,136 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 20,521 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,717,000 after buying an additional 3,239 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $5,462,000. Derbend Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Derbend Asset Management now owns 12,368 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Advisors LLC PA grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 17,792 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,690,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.05.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.4 %

Microsoft stock opened at $399.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $414.44 and its 200-day moving average is $387.17. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $292.73 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.12%.

Microsoft Company 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.