Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC

Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,280 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 14,190 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.9% of Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $125,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $446.95 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $424.11 and a 200 day moving average of $409.66. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $456.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. New Street Research started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.12.

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.