Avion Wealth Sells 30 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Avion Wealth lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,523 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Avion Wealth’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $406.66 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $413.68 and its 200 day moving average is $390.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $303.40 and a 12-month high of $430.82.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

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.