Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 340,736 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 83.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,625 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 340,736 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $28,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Microsoft by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,271,140 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,643,215,000 after buying an additional 935,209 shares during the period. Tepp RIA LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $778,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,812,711 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,607,058,000 after purchasing an additional 26,941 shares in the last quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,312,000. Finally, Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,268,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $3.42 on Friday, hitting $471.10. The stock had a trading volume of 8,065,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,437,772. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $473.29. The business's fifty day moving average is $415.43 and its 200 day moving average is $416.31. The company has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. 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, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at $21,647,150.58. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.