Stevens Capital Management LP Has $5.43 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 63.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,874 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 22,351 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.2% of Stevens Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MSFT traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $458.77. 34,758,620 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,610,607. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $407.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $414.89. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-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 firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% 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 6,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

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.