Signature Wealth Management Group Cuts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Signature Wealth Management Group lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,260 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.8% of Signature Wealth Management Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Signature Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,920,047,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,625,201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $7.28 on Friday, reaching $406.32. The company had a trading volume of 29,640,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $295.25 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $388.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.87% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

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.