Bowman & Co S.C. Lowers Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bowman & Co S.C. reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,412 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 481 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.4% of Bowman & Co S.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Bowman & Co S.C.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 target price (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.12.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $460.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $461.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $426.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $411.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid 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 0.65%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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.