Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Trimmed by Northwest Capital Management Inc

Northwest Capital Management Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,050 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 798 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.5% of Northwest Capital Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Northwest Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 7,156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 21,864 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,199,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. now owns 13,310 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 226.1% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 5,260 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 966,487 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $406,620,000 after acquiring an additional 19,203 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $449.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $419.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $407.17. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $450.94. The company has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Company 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.