Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Forefront Wealth Management Inc.

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,020 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 7.6% of Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Forefront Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CHB Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the first quarter. CHB Investment Group LLC now owns 6,602 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 11.1% during the first quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,346 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% during the first quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,976 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 152,144 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,113,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Solution LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.8% during the first quarter. Retirement Solution LLC now owns 28,096 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $510.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. 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 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $514.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $477.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.54.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Microsoft from $485.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.