EWG Elevate Inc. Sells 171 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

EWG Elevate Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,582 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. EWG Elevate Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Sicart Associates LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $449.78 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $419.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $407.17. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $450.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.