Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Benin Management CORP’s 3rd Largest Position

Benin Management CORP trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,448 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 330 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.7% of Benin Management CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Family CFO Inc boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 647.8% during the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7 %

MSFT stock opened at $397.84 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $413.76 and a 200-day moving average of $389.54. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $303.40 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.