Fiduciary Group LLC Sells 72 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Fiduciary Group LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,428 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.5% of Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $441.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

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.