Bluesphere Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bluesphere Advisors LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,110 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,259 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.2% of Bluesphere Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Bluesphere Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

MSFT stock opened at $524.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $489.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $435.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

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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