Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,737 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,365 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.1% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.2% during the first quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,546 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,974 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% during the first quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 93,177 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $26,863,000 after acquiring an additional 4,471 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the first quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,704 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 88,176 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $375.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $336.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $335.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $345.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total transaction of $418,462.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,588.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total transaction of $418,462.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,588.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $328.41 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $213.43 and a 52-week high of $366.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $333.23 and a 200-day moving average of $307.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.