Enclave Advisors LLC Sells 8,241 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Enclave Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,150 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,241 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.0% of Enclave Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Enclave Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after buying an additional 5,370,546 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $524.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $1.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $497.72. 13,967,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,684,187. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $463.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $423.91. 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 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $500.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

About Microsoft

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.