Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Trimmed by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,559 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 11,671 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.3% of Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in 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 worth $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $20,675,715,000 after buying an additional 1,823,579 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after acquiring an additional 406,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,228,502 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,898,314,000 after acquiring an additional 324,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $454.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,797,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,538,550. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $395.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,738 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.16.

Microsoft 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.