Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ 6th Largest Position

Silicon Valley Capital Partners lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,760 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,263 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.5% of Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after buying an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,852,000 after buying an additional 20,553,188 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Microsoft by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,638,815,000 after buying an additional 14,652,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 98.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,218,570 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,649,717,000 after buying an additional 7,534,774 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $333.55 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $332.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $213.43 and a 12 month high of $366.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.