DnB Asset Management AS Has $1.96 Billion Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,656,797 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,363,885 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.5% of DnB Asset Management AS's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. DnB Asset Management AS owned about 0.06% of Microsoft worth $1,962,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $3.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $467.68. 20,083,146 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,471,689. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $413.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.95. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $469.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four 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.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.