Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Northern Capital Management Inc.

Northern Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,728 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.7% of Northern Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Northern Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $454.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $401.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.59. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.13.

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.