Jackson Square Capital LLC Sells 16,418 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Jackson Square Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 31.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,311 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 16,418 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.4% of Jackson Square Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Jackson Square Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $510.05. 21,075,124 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,610,163. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $476.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.88. 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 company has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $515.46.

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. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $581.00 target price (up from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.