Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lowered by Sentry LLC

Sentry LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,749 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.4% of Sentry LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Sentry LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,497,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bensler LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 86,932 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $27,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $7.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $406.32. 29,640,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $295.25 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $387.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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.