Advisory Alpha LLC Decreases Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Advisory Alpha LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 39.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,520 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 13,833 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $492.27 on Thursday. 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 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 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $494.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush increased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.43.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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