Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Ycg LLC

YCG LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,932 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,986 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 7.7% of YCG LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. YCG LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $96,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, 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 owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $4.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $458.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 21,313,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,562,482. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $395.33 and a 200-day moving average of $412.34. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 business posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.30.

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.