Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Focused Investors LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Focused Investors LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 563,350 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 58,800 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.9% of Focused Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $211,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E&G Advisors LP increased its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 12,415 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,669,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Axim Planning & Wealth increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Axim Planning & Wealth now owns 2,769 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,649 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Fiduciary Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Planning LLC now owns 5,547 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 53,313 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,380 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $406.66 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $303.40 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $413.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $389.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

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.