Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Mechanics Financial Corp

Mechanics Financial Corp lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,654 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,644 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.2% of Mechanics Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MSFT opened at $463.87 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $413.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $415.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.13.

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.