Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,929 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 845 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.5% of Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $1,375,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $21,493,447 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $522.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $501.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

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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