Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 210,855 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 29,245 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.9% of B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $88,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following 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. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

Microsoft stock opened at $477.40 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $483.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $437.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $420.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.68.

Microsoft Company 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.