Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,191 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,576 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.6% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $94,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8%

MSFT stock traded down $3.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $474.96. 16,804,288 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,507,320. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $480.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $428.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $418.65.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.