Donaldson Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,414 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 28,042 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.8% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $115,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $35,920,047,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 9.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,152,647,000 after buying an additional 2,456,190 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $9,625,201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $7.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $406.32. 29,640,094 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $414.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $387.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $295.25 and a one year high of $430.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.