Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by BDF Gestion

BDF Gestion reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 216,889 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 15,293 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 8.5% of BDF Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $91,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,314,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,137,000 after buying an additional 42,778 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Scotiabank started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $391.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $408.82 and its 200 day moving average is $419.67. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $376.91 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.