Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 240,352 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 689 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.7% of Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $101,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after buying an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,052,704 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,675,715,000 after buying an additional 1,823,579 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,104,959,000 after buying an additional 406,940 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,228,502 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,898,314,000 after acquiring an additional 324,052 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $458.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $396.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $412.71. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.30.

Microsoft 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.