Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,712 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.9% of Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $565.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $478.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $480.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $432.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.32.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.