Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,764 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,255 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.9% of BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.4% during the first quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,075,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were 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 $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $502.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $441.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors 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 yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

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.