Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,167 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,180 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.8% of PFG Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. PFG Advisors' holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,243 shares of company stock worth $48,619,618 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.30.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $458.17. The company had a trading volume of 15,422,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,538,085. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm's 50 day moving average is $396.84 and its 200-day moving average is $412.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 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.