Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 390,897 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.2% of Douglas Lane & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $146,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $521.14.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $495.94 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $499.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $449.47 and a 200-day moving average of $422.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% 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. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company 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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