Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lessened by Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC

Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,237 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 6.4% of Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Sicart Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $452.16 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $453.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $421.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $408.52.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of 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 valued at $10,877,535 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

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.