Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,448 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 13.5% of Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Microsoft by 63.0% during the third quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 2,070 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares during the last quarter. Mycio Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 9,108 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the third quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 23,861 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $446.95 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. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $424.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $410.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $456.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $467.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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.