Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lessened by Trust Co of the South

Trust Co of the South trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,867 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 544 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.5% of Trust Co of the South's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Trust Co of the South's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 now directly owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $486.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $439.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $420.58. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $487.75.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.68.

About Microsoft

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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