New England Research & Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,388 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.4% of New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Price Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four 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, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $538.04.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
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.
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