Focused Investors LLC Sells 2,850 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Focused Investors LLC lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,500 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,850 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.4% of Focused Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Focused Investors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $139,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $458.77. 34,758,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,610,607. The business's 50-day moving average price is $407.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

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.