Cerity Partners LLC Has $1.32 Billion Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,122,622 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 67,973 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.9% of Cerity Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,320,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7%

MSFT stock traded down $3.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $475.45. 8,107,209 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,451,343. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $425.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.26. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $480.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.68.

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.