Chelsea Counsel Co. Has $9.53 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Chelsea Counsel Co. reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,338 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,385 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.1% of Chelsea Counsel Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Chelsea Counsel Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 647.8% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $442.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $417.71 and its 200 day moving average is $404.48. The company has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $443.40.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. New Street Research assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $465.83.

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.