Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Decreased by Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC

Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,816 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,067 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 8.6% of Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after purchasing an additional 46,579,693 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $510.05 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $514.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $477.78 and its 200 day moving average is $428.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $541.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.