BLB&B Advisors LLC Sells 5,255 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• BLB&B Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft by 3.3%, holding 152,764 shares valued at approximately $57.35 million, making it the fund's 9th largest position.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings, with Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC growing its position by 1.4%, while Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. significantly raised its investment by 147.9%.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic, with numerous firms raising their target prices, resulting in a consensus price target of $609.86 and a rating of "Moderate Buy" for Microsoft stocks.

BLB&B Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,764 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,255 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.9% of BLB&B Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fosun International Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft 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 directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $21,493,447. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $520.17. 25,185,972 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,739,252. 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 company has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $502.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $441.02. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during 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 quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

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.