Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Essex LLC

Essex LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,096 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.6% of Essex LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Essex LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,429,000 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 increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $87,000. Cordant Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 647.8% during the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Family CFO Inc raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 13.6% in the third quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

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

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 target price (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Three research 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 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.