Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV

Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,578 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 297 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 11.1% of Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newton One Investments LLC lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $542.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $512.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $484.58. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $680.00 to $682.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.58.

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.