Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lowered by Eastover Investment Advisors LLC

Eastover Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,881 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.5% of Eastover Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $490.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average is $441.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $420.91. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $491.85.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.68.

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.

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