Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Greystone Financial Group LLC

Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,000 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,165 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.6% of Greystone Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Greystone Financial Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,528,950,000 after purchasing an additional 46,579,693 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded up $6.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $503.51. 18,633,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,667,813. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's fifty day moving average is $465.60 and its 200 day moving average is $424.41. 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 one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $506.65.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% 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 Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $527.31.

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.