Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,647 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 755 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.9% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $463.87. The stock had a trading volume of 14,135,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,449,429. The company's 50 day moving average price is $411.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $415.62. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,647,150.58. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 132,743 shares of company stock worth $58,835,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

About Microsoft

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.