Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lessened by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,184 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,492 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.6% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $565.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, June 13th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $2.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $477.40. 37,241,095 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,567,140. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $436.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $420.16. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $483.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. 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.