Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 3,256,523 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,651,052 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,256,523 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.3% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.44% of Microsoft worth $13,762,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,659,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 147,421 shares of the software giant's stock worth $62,138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,451 shares in the last quarter. Allie Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Allie Family Office LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,850 shares of the software giant's stock worth $19,326,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,179,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $470.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $416.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $473.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Bank of America reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.59.

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.

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