Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Sells 1,884 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 136,664 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,884 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.9% of Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $250,032,357,000 after acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares during the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $7.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $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 stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $414.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $388.51. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $295.25 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.87% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

About Microsoft

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.