Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,307,062 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 48,671 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.3% of Boston Trust Walden Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $584,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078,099 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $35,920,047,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,160,020,000 after acquiring an additional 842,884 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew 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 worth $9,591,126,000 after acquiring an additional 277,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $9,544,532,000 after acquiring an additional 403,409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $422.31 and its 200-day moving average is $423.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.