Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Cut by Bar Harbor Wealth Management

Bar Harbor Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,994 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,366 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Bar Harbor Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bar Harbor Wealth Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after acquiring an additional 46,579,693 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 target price (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $538.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $6.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $512.37. 8,677,880 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,579,244. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $474.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.28. 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 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $513.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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.