Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Providence First Trust Co

Providence First Trust Co trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,787 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,267 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.6% of Providence First Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Providence First Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Microsoft by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,439,407,000 after buying an additional 4,568,539 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,032,859,000 after buying an additional 2,222,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third 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 worth $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $433.35. 23,291,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,372,691. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $386.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $411.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.