Berkshire Money Management Inc. Sells 1,285 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Berkshire Money Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,285 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.3% of Berkshire Money Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Berkshire Money Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MSFT traded down $2.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $524.94. The stock had a trading volume of 21,298,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,431,307. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $492.99 and a 200 day moving average of $436.40. The company has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.