Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 318,400 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 26,900 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.3% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $134,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $4.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $458.87. The company had a trading volume of 21,313,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,562,400. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock's 50 day moving average is $395.33 and its 200-day moving average is $412.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.30.

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.