Sylvest Advisors LLC Has $7.05 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Sylvest Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 17.8%, holding approximately $7.05 million worth of shares after selling 4,074 shares.
• Several institutional investors are adjusting their positions in Microsoft, with some like Newton One Investments LLC increasing their stake by 66.7% during the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings are bullish; firms like Loop Capital and Scotiabank have raised their price targets for Microsoft to as high as $650, indicating strong investor confidence.

Sylvest Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,779 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,074 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.4% of Sylvest Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Sylvest Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 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. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $527.75 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $492.99 and its 200-day moving average is $436.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

About Microsoft

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.