Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.

Key Points

• Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. reduced its Microsoft shares by 62.9%, ending the quarter with 22,505 shares valued at approximately $8.4 million, making it the firm's 9th largest holding.
• In a recent series of insider transactions, two executives sold a combined total of 34,743 shares of Microsoft stock, representing significant decreases in their ownership stakes.
• Microsoft's latest earnings report showed a net revenue of $76.44 billion, exceeding estimates and reflecting an 18.1% year-over-year growth.

Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 62.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,505 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 38,164 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.8% of Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $9.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,331,950. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $489.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $434.88. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.