Ithaka Group LLC Sells 5,518 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ithaka Group LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,133 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,518 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 6.5% of Ithaka Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Ithaka Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $4.68 on Friday, reaching $450.18. The stock had a trading volume of 16,874,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,548,957. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $402.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $413.88.

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, 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

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.