Absher Wealth Management LLC Sells 937 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Absher Wealth Management LLC reduced its Microsoft holdings by 1.1% in Q1, owning 87,876 shares worth about $32.99 million.
• Insider selling activity included 6,000 shares sold by Bradford L. Smith and 13,243 shares sold by Amy Coleman totaling over $8.5 million in transactions.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Microsoft, with estimates now ranging from $490.00 to $600.00, reflecting strong confidence in the stock's performance.

Absher Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 87,876 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 937 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.3% of Absher Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $133,023,000 after buying an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.39 on Friday, reaching $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,441,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $488.46 and a 200-day moving average of $434.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 33.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.