Morton Capital Management LLC CA Lowers Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Morton Capital Management LLC CA decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,062 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 489 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.8% of Morton Capital Management LLC CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Morton Capital Management LLC CA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% in the second quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $423.26 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $275.37 and a 1 year high of $430.82. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $414.49 and a 200 day moving average of $380.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $427.57.

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.