Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by New Millennium Group LLC

New Millennium Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 37.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,859 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 17,181 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 7.1% of New Millennium Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. New Millennium Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $503.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $506.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $470.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.76.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.