Vestcor Inc Sells 1,042 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 220,788 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.1% of Vestcor Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $93,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 94,243 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,738. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $458.87 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $396.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $412.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Microsoft Company 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.