Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Monument Capital Management’s 3rd Largest Position

Monument Capital Management lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,844 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 420 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.7% of Monument Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,625,201,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,505,600 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,591,126,000 after buying an additional 277,881 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,381,692 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,544,532,000 after buying an additional 403,409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $453.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $435.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $416.36. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.86.

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.