Oak Asset Management LLC Sells 80 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Oak Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,871 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.6% of Oak Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $9,625,201,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,505,600 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,591,126,000 after purchasing an additional 277,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,381,692 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,544,532,000 after acquiring an additional 403,409 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.5 %

Microsoft stock opened at $454.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $435.00 and its 200 day moving average is $415.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now 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 through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.