Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,258 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,030 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.6% of Willis Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fosun International Ltd grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $505.62. 15,142,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,629,187. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $508.30. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $474.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $427.28.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $538.04.

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.