Tufton Capital Management Has $31.93 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Tufton Capital Management cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,755 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 726 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.0% of Tufton Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Tufton Capital Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in 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 buying an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.1% during 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 valued at $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after purchasing an additional 652,493 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,904,450 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,007,285,000 after purchasing an additional 636,713 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $433.35. 23,291,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,367,253. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $386.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $411.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.