Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 334,137 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 26,337 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.1% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $125,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,528,950,000 after acquiring an additional 46,579,693 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $581.00 target price (up previously from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price target (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $541.79.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MSFT
Microsoft Stock Performance
MSFT stock opened at $510.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $514.64. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $477.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $428.49.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.
Microsoft Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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