Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Flossbach Von Storch SE

Key Points

• Flossbach Von Storch SE has reduced its Microsoft stake by 2.2%, selling 76,633 shares, resulting in a total holding of 3,406,727 shares valued at approximately $1.28 billion.
• Vanguard Group Inc. and other institutional investors increased their Microsoft stakes significantly during the fourth quarter, with Vanguard alone growing its holdings by 1.5% to own over $288 billion worth of shares.
• Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with the annualized yield standing at 0.7%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 24.34%.

Flossbach Von Storch SE trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,406,727 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 76,633 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.5% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Flossbach Von Storch SE's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,278,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,528,950,000 after buying an additional 46,579,693 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after buying an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $2.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $509.38. 8,401,778 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,248,445. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $507.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $446.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 8,850 shares of company stock worth $4,406,512 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

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.