Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Sandy Spring Bank's 5th Largest Position

Sandy Spring Bank reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,119 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,737 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.6% of Sandy Spring Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sandy Spring Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $87,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 43,900.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,042,499 shares of the software giant's stock worth $860,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037,857 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $459.26. 1,957,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,508,213. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $407.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $414.89. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.