Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Cidel Asset Management Inc. has lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.0%, now holding 149,050 shares, which represents approximately 3.7% of their investment portfolio.
• Microsoft recently reported $3.65 earnings per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.30, alongside a revenue increase to $76.44 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83, with a dividend yield of 0.6%, to be paid on September 11th.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,050 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 9,556 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.7% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $55,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $2.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $520.17. The stock had a trading volume of 25,185,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,739,252. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $502.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $441.02. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's 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 owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.