Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lessened by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,376 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.4% of Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fosun International Ltd lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

MSFT stock opened at $505.87 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $514.64. The company has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $481.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $430.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $581.00 price target (up previously from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upgraded Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.36.

Microsoft Company 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.