AFS Financial Group LLC Sells 10,449 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

AFS Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 55.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,253 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 10,449 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of AFS Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. AFS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. FMR LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $679,928,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,375,375 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,749,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 243.6% during the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,151,555 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $679,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,367 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4 %

MSFT opened at $409.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $414.59 and its 200-day moving average is $387.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $275.37 and a 52-week high of $430.82.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.05.

Microsoft Company 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.