AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,011 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.5% of AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. PayPay Securities Corp bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Gleason Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 111.7% in the first quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Christopher C. Capossela sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.87, for a total value of $1,584,350.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 89,328 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,363.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,250 shares of company stock worth $18,862,813. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.68.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business; Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn; and Dynamics 365, a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprise divisions.
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