Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,828 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,655 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.3% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Microsoft by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 113,168 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,612,000 after buying an additional 43,327 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 35,888 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,099,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 13,003 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,471,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 987.5% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 150,863 shares of the software giant's stock worth $63,471,000 after acquiring an additional 136,991 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.46.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

MSFT opened at $436.60 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $427.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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.