Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Reduced by Columbia Asset Management

Columbia Asset Management lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 48.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,538 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 89,670 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 6.9% of Columbia Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after buying an additional 46,579,693 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.5%

Microsoft stock traded up $7.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $498.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,984,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,692,275. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $500.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $457.07 and a 200-day moving average of $423.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $524.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% 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 three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.