Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lowered by Trillium Asset Management LLC

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,553,000. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,809,058 shares of the software giant's stock worth $762,518,000 after purchasing an additional 43,454 shares during the period. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 3,137 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $265,917,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 107,674 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $45,385,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $10.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $460.69. The company had a trading volume of 20,932,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,585,267. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $403.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $414.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.