Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Axis Wealth Partners LLC

Axis Wealth Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,985 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. TD Securities lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,350 shares of company stock worth $14,162,567. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $520.17 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $502.60 and a 200-day moving average of $441.19. 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. The company has a market cap 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.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.