Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,956 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,206 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.0% of Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.2% in the first quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,409 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Everest Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 22.0% in the first quarter. Everest Management Corp. now owns 9,089 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $21,129,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 153,358 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,569,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $3.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $504.59. The stock had a trading volume of 7,516,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,623,648. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $469.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. 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 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $506.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.