Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,346 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.4% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $12.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $389.33. 28,721,275 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,169,949. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $303.40 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $414.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $389.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 0.77%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.61.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 at this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was 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 $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.