Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 13,400 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,089,768 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 13,400 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.7% of Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $409,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $510.05. 21,120,811 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,618,181. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $514.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $477.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.79.

Microsoft Company 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.