Atlas Private Wealth Advisors Trims Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Atlas Private Wealth Advisors cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,101 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,882 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.8% of Atlas Private Wealth Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $510.05. 21,120,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,618,181. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $514.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $477.78 and a 200 day moving average of $428.49.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $541.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.