Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.

J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 325,716 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,454 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 12.8% of J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $137,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 172,532 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $72,720,000 after buying an additional 38,663 shares during the period. United Capital Management of KS Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 36,033 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,188,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. HMV Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $1,938,000. First National Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 237,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $100,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $787,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,243 shares of company stock valued at $48,619,618. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.63.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2%

MSFT opened at $452.57 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company's 50 day moving average price is $399.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $413.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

About Microsoft

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.

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