Motive Wealth Advisors Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Motive Wealth Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,136 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.4% of Motive Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Motive Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $511.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $427.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $513.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price target (up from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $538.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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.