Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,143,453 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 250,076 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 1.5% of Baillie Gifford & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.07% of Microsoft worth $1,934,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,453,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Dechtman Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 67.6% in the third quarter. Dechtman Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,259 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 13,198 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,167,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 193,348 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $61,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Powell Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 25.6% during the third quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,025,258 shares of company stock valued at $12,160,356 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2 %

MSFT stock opened at $406.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $413.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $389.54. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $303.40 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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.