XXEC Inc. Sells 1,045 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

XXEC Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,626 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,045 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 9.3% of XXEC Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. XXEC Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in 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 fourth 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 buying an additional 5,370,546 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $495.94 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $449.47 and its 200-day moving average is $421.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $499.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $521.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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