Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Canopy Partners LLC

Canopy Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,260 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.2% of Canopy Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,343,058,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Microsoft by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $478.87 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $480.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $425.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $418.26.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.