Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,118 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,124 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth 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 bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.89.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $6.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $478.87. The stock had a trading volume of 18,905,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,507,291. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $423.22 and a 200 day moving average of $417.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $480.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.