Everest Management Corp. Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Everest Management Corp. purchased a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,449 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,140,000. Microsoft accounts for about 2.8% of Everest Management Corp.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $470.38 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $417.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. 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 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $473.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upped 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.59.

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.

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