Smith Anglin Financial LLC Sells 94 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Smith Anglin Financial LLC decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,859 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 0.6% of Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 534.5% during the second quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 89.0% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $425.52 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $378.72. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $275.37 and a 12-month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Macquarie upped their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Microsoft from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.