Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,895 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.0% of GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,890,530,000 after acquiring an additional 49,288 shares during the period. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,334,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,243 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,738 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.30.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $454.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $395.33 and its 200-day moving average is $412.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

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.