Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,459 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Western Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,365 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,459 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Western Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Western Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price target (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $522.04. 15,514,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,343,549. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50 day moving average is $495.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.64. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.