Proffitt & Goodson Inc. Sells 247 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,833 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 247 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.8% of Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,255,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,294,000. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 63,733 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,966,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 68,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,731,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,625,201,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $406.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $295.25 and a 12-month high of $430.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $414.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $388.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.87% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.