Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lowered by Kelly Financial Services LLC

Kelly Financial Services LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,418 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.6% of Kelly Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Kelly Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Four 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.14.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $503.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $506.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $471.98 and a 200-day moving average of $426.18.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 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.