Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Virtue Capital Management LLC

Virtue Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,815 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,653 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.8% of Virtue Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Virtue Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $2.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $477.40. 37,241,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,515,262. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $483.46. The stock's fifty day moving average is $437.84 and its 200 day moving average is $420.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.68.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft 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.