Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 927,921 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 50,471 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 6.0% of Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $315,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,469 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $351,001,000 after purchasing an additional 196,338 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $360.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $219.35 and a 1-year high of $366.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $331.49 and its 200 day moving average is $328.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Microsoft from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued 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 price target of $384.34.

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.