Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Dearborn Partners LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 215,073 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,223 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.8% of Dearborn Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $92,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $428.50. The company had a trading volume of 25,848,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,069,188. The business has a 50-day moving average of $429.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $509.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.93.

Microsoft Company 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.