Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Seilern Investment Management Ltd

Seilern Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 363,755 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 49,703 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 8.9% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Seilern Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $136,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $527.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $9.59 on Wednesday, reaching $506.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,806,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,709,939. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $465.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $504.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. On average, research 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.