Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Increased by Rice Partnership LLC

Rice Partnership LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,096 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,936 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 7.9% of Rice Partnership LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock traded up $7.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $406.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,640,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $414.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $387.70. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $295.25 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted 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, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

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.