Arden Trust Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Arden Trust Co reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,016 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,480 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.1% of Arden Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Arden Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $410.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $433.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $422.83. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,964 shares of company stock valued at $6,245,404. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.