Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Has $213.65 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 506,883 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,227 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.1% of Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $213,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $6.25 on Thursday, hitting $478.87. 18,905,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,507,291. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $423.22 and a 200 day moving average of $417.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $480.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% 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 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.