Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Cut by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 339,924 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 47,680 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.0% of Castleark Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $143,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $478.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $432.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.32. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $480.69.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.68.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last three months. Corporate 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.