Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Gould Capital LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Gould Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,476 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 66 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.1% of Gould Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Gould Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $480.24 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $481.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $436.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $420.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

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.