Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,274 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 6,012 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.2% of HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sicart Associates LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 5,864 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.4% during the third quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $406.66 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $303.40 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $413.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $389.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,025,258 shares of company stock valued at $12,160,356 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.