Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA Sells 1,245 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA trimmed its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 27,873 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,245 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 7.8% of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,017,948,000 after buying an additional 150,053,637 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,553,188 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Microsoft by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,638,815,000 after acquiring an additional 14,652,150 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 348.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,998,927 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $894,426,000 after purchasing an additional 9,324,182 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.52.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $413.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $275.37 and a 52 week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $415.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $383.26.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.12%.

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.