World Equity Group Inc. Sells 23,492 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

World Equity Group Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 38.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,102 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 23,492 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.3% of World Equity Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. World Equity Group Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fosun International Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush raised their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.47 on Friday, reaching $524.03. The company had a trading volume of 13,043,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,325,803. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $488.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

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.