Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,062 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.0% of Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after buying an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,539 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Microsoft by 46.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $438.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $388.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $411.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.