Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 53,085 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 366 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.2% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $216,000. Constant Guidance Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $633,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 701,305 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $221,437,000 after buying an additional 48,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004,612 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $317,206,000 after acquiring an additional 68,848 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.05.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.37 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $414.60 and a 200-day moving average of $386.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

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.