Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Reduced by Marest Capital LLC

Marest Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,084 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,040 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.8% of Marest Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Marest Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Microsoft from $494.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $551.21.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $2.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $513.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,103,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,594,816. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $483.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $431.52. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $518.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.