Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Sells 516 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,468 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 516 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.5% of Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hendershot Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 56,336 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $21,184,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 30,749 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,563,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 4,412 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gruss & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Gruss & Co. LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $413.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $413.80 and a 200-day moving average of $391.46. The company has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $306.09 and a one year high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities 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 research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.