Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Cut by Vicus Capital

Vicus Capital decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,645 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,257 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.6% of Vicus Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $28,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $510.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $514.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $477.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.61. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. 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 presently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Wedbush raised their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Four 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 an average target price of $543.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.