Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Decreased by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,428 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.5% of Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $1,375,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $502.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $441.01.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.