CGN Advisors LLC Sells 1,470 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

CGN Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,274 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,470 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.1% of CGN Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. CGN Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $7.16 on Thursday, hitting $498.25. 13,977,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,645,416. The company's 50-day moving average price is $457.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $500.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.04.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft 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 owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush lifted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price target (up from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $524.71.

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.