AKO Capital LLP Sells 122,525 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

AKO Capital LLP cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,142,735 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 122,525 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 6.7% of AKO Capital LLP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. AKO Capital LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $481,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,728,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,811,770 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,606,661,000 after purchasing an additional 43,033 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 36,704 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,471,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. now owns 51,000 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $21,496,000 after buying an additional 17,000 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% 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, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MSFT traded up $3.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $471.10. 8,065,047 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,437,772. The business has a 50 day moving average of $415.43 and a 200 day moving average of $416.31. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $473.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.