Ninepoint Partners LP Sells 1,434 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ninepoint Partners LP cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,909 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,434 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 0.4% of Ninepoint Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Ninepoint Partners LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. raised its position in Microsoft by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $133,023,000 after buying an additional 18,052 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,789,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,980,299,000 after buying an additional 217,509 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MSFT traded down $4.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $450.18. 16,874,720 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,548,953. The firm's 50 day moving average is $401.04 and its 200-day moving average is $413.59. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% 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 75,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

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.