SlateStone Wealth LLC Has $39.39 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,462 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,235 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.9% of SlateStone Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. SlateStone Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $4.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $450.18. 16,874,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,587,887. The business's 50-day moving average price is $402.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $413.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

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.