11,700 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Acquired by Brown University

Brown University bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,700 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,932,000. Microsoft makes up about 2.1% of Brown University's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $450.18 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $402.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $413.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 in the last ninety days. 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.

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