Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Reduced by Auxier Asset Management

Auxier Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 102,313 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,122 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 6.7% of Auxier Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,274,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,345,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business’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 value 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. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $480.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $481.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $434.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Microsoft 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.