Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,356 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 652 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.4% of Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Elser Financial Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc now owns 4,719 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Dupont Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 148,681 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $55,813,000 after buying an additional 6,961 shares during the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,960 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $21,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 26,150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the first quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 119,440 shares of the software giant's stock worth $44,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $21.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $534.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,422,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,175,734. The company has a 50-day moving average of $486.89 and a 200-day moving average of $433.33. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $598.61.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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