Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 401,965 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 25,685 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Microsoft were worth $169,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,539 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 43,900.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,042,499 shares of the software giant's stock worth $860,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $458.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,829,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,517,713. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $406.41 and its 200-day moving average is $414.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four research 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, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.