Rebalance LLC Trims Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Rebalance LLC lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,012 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Rebalance LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 11.1% in the first quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,346 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% in the first quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,976 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Retirement Solution LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the first quarter. Retirement Solution LLC now owns 28,096 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Finally, Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% in the first quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,861 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $510.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $428.54. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $514.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.79.

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.