Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Raised by Coastline Trust Co

Coastline Trust Co boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,950 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 5,106 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.2% of Coastline Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Coastline Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $679,928,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.2% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,375,375 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,749,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,956 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 243.6% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,151,555 shares of the software giant's stock worth $679,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $6.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $407.57. 15,665,001 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,877,010. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $275.37 and a 52 week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $414.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $386.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $434.05.

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.