Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Physicians Financial Services Inc.

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,839 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.1% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 647.8% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Family CFO Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $413.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $413.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $391.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $306.09 and a 1 year high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.