Atria Investments Inc Sells 6,220 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Atria Investments Inc reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 432,235 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,220 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.3% of Atria Investments Inc's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $182,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $449.14. 22,927,936 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,468,471. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $390.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $411.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

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.