Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 23.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,493 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,944 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.6% of Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Loop Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%
Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $524.11 on Friday. 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 PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $489.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.88.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.
Microsoft Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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