Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s Largest Position

Van Strum & Towne Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,714 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 10.3% of Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.52.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4 %

Microsoft stock opened at $421.90 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $415.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given 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 currently 27.12%.

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.