Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,067 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,453 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.8% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $83,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT traded up $4.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $465.55. 5,802,740 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,650,561. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $467.07. The company has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $428.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $412.10.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 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, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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

Microsoft Company 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.