Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC Sells 144 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,081 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $491.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $457.07 and its 200-day moving average is $423.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $500.76.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Securities increased their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.