Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Sells 2,032 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,916 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,032 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.1% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,052,704 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,675,715,000 after buying an additional 1,823,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,829,031 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,787,934,000 after buying an additional 1,408,374 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $474.96 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $480.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $428.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $418.65.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.