Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA reduced its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 991,541 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 10,171 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 8.5% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $372,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $503.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $471.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $426.18. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $506.78. The company has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.87, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. 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 0.66%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.14.

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.