Arista Wealth Management LLC Sells 208 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Arista Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,004 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.6% of Arista Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Arista Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MSFT opened at $474.96 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $480.42. 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’s fifty day moving average is $428.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.68.

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.