<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Motco lessened its stake in  Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,587 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,317 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately  2.5% of Motco's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Motco's holdings in Microsoft were worth $24,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.</p><ul><li>Meta Takes A Bow With Q1 Earnings - Watch For Tariff Impact in Q2</li></ul><p>Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in  Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after buying an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter.  Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of  Microsoft by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares in the last quarter.  Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of  Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter.  Baillie Gifford &amp; Co. boosted its holdings in  Microsoft by 46.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford &amp; Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in  Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2><p>Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler  reaffirmed a &#34;neutral&#34; rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Wedbush boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average target price of $507.77.</p><ul><li>Microsoft Crushes Earnings, What’s Next for MSFT Stock?</li></ul><p><b>Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT</b></p><h2>Microsoft Trading Up 0.2 %</h2><p>Shares of MSFT opened at $436.17 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $385.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $411.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. </p><ul><li>BigBear.ai: A Short-Squeeze Is Possible, a Sharp Drop Is Likely</li></ul><p>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share.  Equities analysts forecast that  Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Microsoft Announces Dividend</h2><p>The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio  is presently 25.66%. </p><h2>Microsoft Company Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Microsoft</li><li>What Does Downgrade Mean in Investing?</li><li>Monster Beverage Stock: Short Report Risks vs Upside Potential</li><li>Asset Allocation: The Key to a Successful Portfolio. Are You Paying Attention to Yours?</li><li>Onsemi Stock Confirms Bottom, But What’s the Upside?</li><li>What Do S&amp;P 500 Stocks Tell Investors About the Market? </li><li>3 Tech Leaders Announce Buybacks Totaling $85 Billion</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Microsoft Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Microsoft currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

MSFT

<p>Motco reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% in Q4, owning 57,587 shares after selling 2,317 shares. Microsoft represents about 2.5% of Motco's portfolio, valued at $24.27 million. Other institutional investors have increased their holdings, with Proficio Capital Partners raising its stake by 34,643.3%. Analysts have upgraded Microsoft to a "buy" rating, with an average target price of $507.77. Microsoft reported Q1 earnings of $3.46 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $70.07 billion, a 13.3% increase year-over-year.</p>

- Motco reduced its stake in Microsoft by 3.9% in Q4, owning 57,587 shares valued at $24.27 million.  
- Other institutional investors, such as Proficio Capital Partners and Assenagon Asset Management, significantly increased their holdings in Microsoft during the same period.  
- Microsoft reported Q1 earnings of $3.46 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $70.07 billion, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83.

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Trimmed by Motco