Dearborn Partners LLC Has $94.95 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 252,503 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 15,333 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.5% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $94,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $406.66 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $413.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $389.54. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $303.40 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. 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 company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock valued at $12,160,356 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Microsoft

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.