Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,569 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,797 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 647.8% during the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Family CFO Inc raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $406.32 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $414.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $387.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $295.25 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

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.