Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Boosted by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,076,867 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 9,325 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.6% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Microsoft were worth $404,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $512.50. The company had a trading volume of 14,290,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,824,139. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $518.29. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $484.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $432.22.

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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased 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 reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Microsoft from $485.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.86.

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.