Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Bellecapital International Ltd.’s Largest Position

Bellecapital International Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,358 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,858 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.5% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 534.5% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 89.0% in 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. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $411.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $415.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $384.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $431.03.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.