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

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,315 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,064 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.7% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $1.65 on Friday, reaching $510.05. The stock had a trading volume of 21,075,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,610,163. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. 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 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $515.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $476.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $427.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Bank of America increased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.79.

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.