ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $83.75 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 199,067 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,453 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.8% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $83,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.12.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $4.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $465.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,802,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,650,561. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $467.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $428.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $412.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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.