Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,077 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Goelzer Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 1.2%, selling 1,077 shares and holding 86,834 shares worth approximately $32.6 million.
• Several prominent hedge funds have recently increased their positions in Microsoft, with Vanguard alone purchasing an additional 10.4 million shares, raising its total ownership to over $288 billion in value.
• Microsoft's stock recently reached a price of $524.11, with analysts giving it an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. 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 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,834 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,077 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.0% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $524.11 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $489.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

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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