Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda

Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,126 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,113 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.9% of Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.68.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $4.75 during trading on Monday, hitting $479.71. 3,159,382 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,468,348. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $428.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.55. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $480.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.