Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Apella Capital LLC

Apella Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,884 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 10,592 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.1% of Apella Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $447.67. 15,895,797 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,999,660. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $420.65 and its 200-day moving average is $407.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $452.75.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft 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 $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Macquarie upped their price objective on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $467.12.

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.