Berkshire Money Management Inc. Sells 1,285 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Berkshire Money Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,285 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 0.3% of Berkshire Money Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Berkshire Money Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Fosun International Ltd increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $491.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $435.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.