Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Synergy Asset Management LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• Synergy Asset Management LLC reduced its Microsoft stake by 32.3%, now holding 178,107 shares valued at approximately $66.86 million, making it their largest position.
• Microsoft's most recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.46, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 13.3% year-over-year revenue growth to $70.07 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, scheduled for payment on September 11th, which gives a dividend yield of 0.65%.

Synergy Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 32.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,107 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 85,164 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 8.4% of Synergy Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $66,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,273,704,000 after buying an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty 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 target price of $609.86.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $524.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,948,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,441,598. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $488.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $434.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Microsoft Company 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.