Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Rempart Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,081 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,938 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.4% of Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8%

MSFT opened at $486.00 on Tuesday. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $439.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $420.58. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $487.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 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 net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.