Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Trimmed by CRA Financial Services LLC

CRA Financial Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,876 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.8% of CRA Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Family CFO Inc raised its holdings in Microsoft by 13.6% during the third quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 647.8% during the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $425.34 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $415.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $397.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $430.82. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price objective (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $454.70.

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.