Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Reduced by American Trust Investment Advisors LLC

American Trust Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,630 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.4% of American Trust Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,453,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Caliber Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,888 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 65,525 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,689,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the period. McGuire Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 52,388 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $188,066,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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 firm’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 value of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MSFT traded up $7.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $406.32. 29,640,094 shares of the company’s 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 P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $295.25 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $414.48 and its 200-day moving average is $387.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 38.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

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.