Sander Capital Advisors Inc. Has $84.93 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sander Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,250 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,431 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 44.7% of Sander Capital Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Sander Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $84,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first 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. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $513.71. The stock had a trading volume of 19,103,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,594,816. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $483.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $431.52. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $518.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $551.21.

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.