Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Gold Investment Management Ltd.

Gold Investment Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,458 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 463 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.0% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,890,530,000 after acquiring an additional 49,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,334,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $450.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a PEG 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 one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $402.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.88.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.