Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Trims Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,956 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,010 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 7.2% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $60,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares during the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. 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 on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Three investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $460.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $426.26 and its 200 day moving average is $411.42. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $461.02.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 company posted $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

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.