Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 223,168 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.1% of Diversified Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $83,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fosun International Ltd increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group increased its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft Trading Down 0.8%
MSFT opened at $520.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $495.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.64. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.06.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The company's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was 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 the SEC website. 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 transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp upgraded Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.
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About Microsoft
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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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