Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Sells 1,372 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 195,067 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,372 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.0% of Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI's holdings in Microsoft were worth $73,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 34,507 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 8,911 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 13,999 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,255,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 11,854 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,450,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 10,381 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $501.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $469.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $425.41. The company has a market cap of $3.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $506.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its 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 the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price target (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.14.

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.