Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Ervin Investment Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Ervin Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,415 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 11.9% of Ervin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ervin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $679,928,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 8,352 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,176,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,035 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,773,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. China Renaissance started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $466.00 price target for the company. Argus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $423.34.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $421.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $409.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $373.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $272.05 and a 12 month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

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.