Drive Wealth Management LLC Sells 361 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Drive Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,917 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 361 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.8% of Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $7.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $406.32. 29,640,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $387.70. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $295.25 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.