Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 46,062 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 313,457 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 46,062 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.7% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $132,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.59.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $472.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,447,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,503,282. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $473.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $419.01 and a 200 day moving average of $417.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 0.70%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% 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. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.