Judson Althoff Sells 25,000 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $3.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $430.16. 11,846,069 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,251,229. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $433.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $416.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $398.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $465.00 price target (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $454.70.

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.

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