Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Reduced by Jackson Square Partners LLC

Jackson Square Partners LLC reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,094 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,947 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.5% of Jackson Square Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Jackson Square Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $3.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $467.68. The company had a trading volume of 20,094,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,489,870. The company has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $413.59 and its 200-day moving average is $415.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $469.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

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.