Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,932 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 9,208 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.7% of Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $87,000. Family CFO Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cordant Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 647.8% during the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $400.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $414.57 and its 200-day moving average is $386.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. 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 $275.37 and a 12-month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.05.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.