ProVise Management Group LLC Sells 3,295 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

ProVise Management Group LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,106 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,295 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.2% of ProVise Management Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. ProVise Management Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $10,553,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,809,058 shares of the software giant's stock worth $762,518,000 after purchasing an additional 43,454 shares during the last quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 3,137 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $265,917,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 107,674 shares of the software giant's stock worth $45,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $458.68. 13,971,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,584,780. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $407.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $414.89. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

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.