Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Puzo Michael J

Puzo Michael J reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,198 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,287 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.5% of Puzo Michael J’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Puzo Michael J’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 27,139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,439,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Broderick Brian C raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 54,558 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $22,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 10,028 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,632 shares during the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 11,660 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Astra Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $1,286,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Raymond James boosted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $472.75 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $473.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $419.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $417.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.06, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

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

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.