Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,880 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 614 shares during the quarter. Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 66,415 shares of the software giant's stock worth $27,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. CV Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. CV Advisors LLC now owns 33,181 shares of the software giant's stock worth $13,901,000 after purchasing an additional 9,349 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,107 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Tumwater Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,233,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 552,911 shares of the software giant's stock worth $233,052,000 after buying an additional 37,558 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $4.68 on Monday, hitting $450.18. 16,874,720 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,587,887. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $403.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 now owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.