Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,926 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,863 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 7.0% of Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $412.32 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $306.26 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $413.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $392.17. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.