General Partner Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,301 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.7% of General Partner Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. General Partner Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in 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 stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.68.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Stock Performance
MSFT stock opened at $490.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $441.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $420.91. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $491.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Profile
(
Free Report)
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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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

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