Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is White Pine Investment CO’s 7th Largest Position

White Pine Investment CO trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,488 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of White Pine Investment CO’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. White Pine Investment CO’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,671 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,269,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 52,007 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,557,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. White Wing Wealth Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. now owns 16,014 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,022,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $406.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $413.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $389.54. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $303.40 and a one year high of $430.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Microsoft 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.