Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 76.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,307 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 39,412 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.9% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 49,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

MSFT opened at $480.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $436.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $420.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $481.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.