Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 275,970 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.4% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $116,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,738 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $454.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $395.33 and its 200-day moving average is $412.48.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.