Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Shelton Capital Management's 3rd Largest Position

Shelton Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 521,386 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 29,654 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.5% of Shelton Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Shelton Capital Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $219,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FIL Ltd increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 8,384,811 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,534,198,000 after buying an additional 192,464 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 26,260 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,069,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares in the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 6,178 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 24,159 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,183,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 3,412,385 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,438,320,000 after purchasing an additional 56,464 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $3.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $474.96. 16,804,288 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,485,191. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $425.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $418.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $480.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

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 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.