Investment Advisory Group LLC Sells 1,664 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Investment Advisory Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,300 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,664 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.4% of Investment Advisory Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Investment Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.14.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

MSFT stock traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $503.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,454,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,673,776. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $470.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.76. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $506.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.90, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid 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 0.66%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

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 transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% 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 valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.