Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Trimmed by Sabal Trust CO

Sabal Trust CO trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,946 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,813 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.6% of Sabal Trust CO's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Sabal Trust CO's holdings in Microsoft were worth $64,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fosun International Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted 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 worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

MSFT traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $522.04. 15,514,819 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,343,549. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $495.59 and a 200 day moving average of $437.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

About Microsoft

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.