PVG Asset Management Corp Takes Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,286 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $542,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.6% of PVG Asset Management Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after buying an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after buying an additional 5,370,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded down $2.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $477.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,241,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,567,146. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $437.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.47. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G 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 $483.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.

About Microsoft

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.