Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 1.6%, now holding 696,901 shares worth approximately $261.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their holdings, with Fosun International Ltd increasing its stake by 0.3%, now owning 6,633 shares valued at $2.49 million.
• Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, payable on September 11th, representing an annual yield of 0.6%.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 696,901 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 11,690 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.9% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $261,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fosun International Ltd grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 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 Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $524.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $489.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $434.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.