Carderock Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Carderock Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,963 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,367 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’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 transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, 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 hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.70.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $3.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $427.00. 17,196,191 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,344,988. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $416.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $397.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $433.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

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.