Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Trimmed by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 597,853 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 23,121 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.5% of Trillium Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Trillium Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $251,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $458.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,927,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,532,320. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $405.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $414.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.91, a PEG 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. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the 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 owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus 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.