Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by WR Wealth Planners LLC

WR Wealth Planners LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,349 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 894 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.4% of WR Wealth Planners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. WR Wealth Planners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $433.31 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $386.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $411.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. 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, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.