Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Carderock Capital Management Inc.

Carderock Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,555 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.5% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 111.7% during the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% during the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $329.81 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $326.68 and a 200 day moving average of $324.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $425.00 to $421.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $384.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. Company 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.