First Affirmative Financial Network Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

First Affirmative Financial Network reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,617 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,255 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.9% of First Affirmative Financial Network's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. First Affirmative Financial Network's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $7.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $498.25. 13,984,829 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,715,135. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $461.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $500.76.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $524.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 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 approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.