Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Unified Investment Management

Unified Investment Management lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,532 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 754 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Unified Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Unified Investment Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $522.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $501.60 and a 200-day moving average of $440.51.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.86.

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.