Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Capital Market Strategies LLC

Capital Market Strategies LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,033 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,153 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 7.3% of Capital Market Strategies LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Capital Market Strategies LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 44,839 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,832,000 after buying an additional 9,634 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 155,868 shares of the software giant's stock worth $58,511,000 after buying an additional 13,182 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 24,449 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,178,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. First Citizens Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 7,701 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,891,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 12,648 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,748,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.68.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $490.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $491.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $441.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $420.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.

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