Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,516 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 391 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $44,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.16.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $453.13 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.48, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $393.86 and a 200-day moving average of $412.42. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

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.