Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $150.12 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 399,896 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,531 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.2% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $150,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fosun International Ltd grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its holdings 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. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its holdings 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. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $541.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Microsoft stock traded down $1.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $510.05. 21,120,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,618,181. The company's 50-day moving average is $477.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $514.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

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.