Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,729 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,643 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,729 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.0% of Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $485.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $581.00 target price (up from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.79.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded down $1.65 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 firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $514.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $477.78 and a 200-day moving average of $428.54. 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 released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.