BlueSpruce Investments LP Sells 70,663 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

BlueSpruce Investments LP reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,341,847 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 70,663 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 15.5% of BlueSpruce Investments LP’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. BlueSpruce Investments LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $667,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $478.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $504.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $502.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $560.00 price target on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.34.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.