Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 5,807 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287,022 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,807 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 6.9% of Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $107,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 9.8% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $503.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $471.98 and its 200-day moving average is $426.18. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $506.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 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%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.14.

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.