Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Reduced by Greenwood Capital Associates LLC

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 73,919 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.6% of Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Slagle Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 36,842 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,854,000 after purchasing an additional 17,849 shares during the last quarter. PBCay One RSC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $17,110,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,123,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 5,995 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,956,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $442.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $443.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $417.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $404.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, 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. Three equities research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.83.

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.