Balboa Wealth Partners trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,011 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 910 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.3% of Balboa Wealth Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Balboa Wealth Partners' holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th 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 period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft Trading Down 1.0%
Microsoft stock traded down $4.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $450.18. The company had a trading volume of 16,874,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,548,957. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $402.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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.
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