Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Has $2.18 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,801 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Petra Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Petra Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first 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 period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $581.00 target price (up from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

MSFT opened at $512.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $484.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $432.22. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $518.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a PEG ratio of 2.33 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.