Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Has $14.30 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,096 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.3% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $1,375,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.9%

Microsoft stock traded down $4.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $505.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,296,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,554,989. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $514.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $477.78 and a 200-day moving average of $428.61. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upgraded Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.07.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.