Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by WoodTrust Financial Corp

WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,982 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of WoodTrust Financial Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. WoodTrust Financial Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after buying an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,052,704 shares of the software giant's stock worth $20,675,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,579 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,104,959,000 after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,228,502 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $11,898,314,000 after purchasing an additional 324,052 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $449.14. The company had a trading volume of 22,927,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,468,471. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $390.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.