West Coast Financial LLC Sells 1,870 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

West Coast Financial LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,607 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,870 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.2% of West Coast Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. West Coast Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its position in Microsoft by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $498.25 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $459.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $423.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $500.76.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $524.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 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.

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