Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Tower Wealth Partners Inc.

Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,704 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.7% of Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,017,948,000 after purchasing an additional 150,053,637 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 35,465.9% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,852,000 after buying an additional 20,553,188 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Microsoft by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,638,815,000 after buying an additional 14,652,150 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 348.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,998,927 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $894,426,000 after buying an additional 9,324,182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $399.12 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $275.37 and a one year high of $430.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $414.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $384.83.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $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 worth $30,690,456 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.13.

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.