Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Trims Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,392 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 5.8% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in Microsoft were worth $103,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 13,999 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,255,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 11,854 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,450,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the first quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 10,381 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.4% during the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,554 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ayrshire Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 6.5% during the first quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 31,101 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,675,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.14.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT traded up $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $503.32. 16,454,184 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,657,924. The company's 50-day moving average is $469.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.41. The company has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $506.78.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.