Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,046 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.4% of Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 160.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $446.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $456.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $424.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $410.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.