Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Reduced by Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,916 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,032 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Microsoft by 16.4% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,894 shares of the software giant's stock worth $41,885,000 after acquiring an additional 13,793 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $1,773,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MSFT traded up $4.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $479.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,576,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,515,567. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $480.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $428.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $418.55.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $565.00 price objective (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft 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.