Addenda Capital Inc. Cuts Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Addenda Capital Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,284 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,313 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.9% of Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 82,267 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,976,000 after acquiring an additional 3,209 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Raymond James increased their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $414.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $386.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

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.