Meitav Investment House Ltd. Sells 69,223 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 375,218 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 69,223 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.1% of Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $140,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 89.0% during the third 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. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $87,000. Family CFO Inc lifted its position 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 buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 647.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $410.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $413.84 and its 200-day moving average is $392.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $306.26 and a 1 year high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

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.