Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 36,723 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 518,568 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 36,723 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.9% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $218,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 stake in 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Microsoft stock traded up $2.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $454.86. The stock had a trading volume of 17,993,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,550,182. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $401.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

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.