Kestra Advisory Services LLC Has $346.91 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 823,027 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 40,055 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.9% of Kestra Advisory Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $346,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,243 shares of company stock valued at $48,619,618. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $452.57 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The company's 50-day moving average is $399.71 and its 200 day moving average is $413.31.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 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 analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.