Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Cut by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,127 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,915 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.5% of First City Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. First City Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

Microsoft stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $496.62. 11,831,573 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,644,968. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $500.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day moving average price is $463.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $423.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price target (up from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $524.71.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business'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 value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.