Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,184 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,492 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.6% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $480.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $434.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $481.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.