Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC Trims Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation by 9.3%, selling 598 shares and retaining a total of 5,862 shares worth approximately $2.2 million.
• Microsoft recently reported earnings exceeding expectations with an EPS of $3.65 and revenue of $76.44 billion, marking an 18.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, which will be paid on September 11th, representing an annual yield of 0.6%.

Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,862 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,528,950,000 after acquiring an additional 46,579,693 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp raised shares of Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,331,950. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business's fifty day moving average is $489.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.88. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.