Atlas Brown Inc. lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,748 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 464 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.1% of Atlas Brown Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.43.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%
Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $492.27 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $444.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $421.40. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $494.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.03.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.
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.
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