Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Trimmed by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 809,388 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 57,333 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 8.1% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's holdings, making the stock its largest position. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's holdings in Microsoft were worth $303,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $498.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $459.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.37. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $500.76.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, June 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $524.71.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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