Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC Trims Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,056 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,153 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.6% of Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 132,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,835,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $463.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,135,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,449,429. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $411.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.62. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.