Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,388,427 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,400 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.3% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $898,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Sicart Associates LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Sonen Capital LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sonen Capital LLC now owns 10,132 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. now owns 937 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $399.12 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.89. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.37 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $414.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $385.79.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Macquarie lifted their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $432.13.

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.