Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Trims Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lowered its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,041 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.3% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $6.33 on Thursday, hitting $512.20. 7,549,773 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,218,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $481.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $430.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $514.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $548.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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.