MBL Wealth LLC Sells 730 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

MBL Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,989 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 730 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.9% of MBL Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. MBL Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,920,047,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,152,647,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $9,625,201,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $7.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $406.32. The stock had a trading volume of 29,640,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $388.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $295.25 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. 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 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 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. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’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 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, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last quarter. Company 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.