Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lessened by Skyline Advisors Inc.

Skyline Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,659 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 956 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 7.8% of Skyline Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Skyline Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $477.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $483.46. The firm's 50 day moving average is $437.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $420.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.68.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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