Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by True Link Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• True Link Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft by 38.3%, selling 1,467 shares, and now holds a total of 2,362 shares worth approximately $887,000.
• Several hedge funds reported changes in their Microsoft holdings, with notable increases from Newton One Investments LLC (up 66.7%) and IFS Advisors LLC (up 50.0%).
• Microsoft's stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $551.21, following recent upgrades from analysts such as Cantor Fitzgerald and Citigroup.

True Link Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 38.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,362 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,467 shares during the quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $513.24. The company had a trading volume of 25,399,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,947,285. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $486.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $433.33. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $518.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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