Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Lowered by Pullen Investment Management LLC

Pullen Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,012 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 492 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 2.1% of Pullen Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $288,336,224,000 after buying an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,720,874,000 after buying an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $505.62 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $508.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $474.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $581.00 target price (up previously from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $538.04.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% 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.

Microsoft 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.