Flossbach Von Storch SE Sells 271,509 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Flossbach Von Storch SE cut its Microsoft stake by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 271,509 shares and leaving it with 3,137,572 shares worth about $1.52 billion. Microsoft remains the fund’s second-largest holding, accounting for roughly 6% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment on Microsoft remains positive, with 39 analysts rating it a Buy and the consensus at “Moderate Buy”. The average price target is $560.88, despite several firms trimming their targets in recent notes.
• Microsoft recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share. The stock opened at $418.57 and trades well below its 52-week high of $555.45.

Flossbach Von Storch SE reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,137,572 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 271,509 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.0% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Flossbach Von Storch SE's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,517,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the third quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the third quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Arete Research boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $399.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $436.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a large new Microsoft stake, signaling strong confidence in MSFT’s long-term AI and cloud growth prospects. Billionaire Bill Ackman Just Made a Massive Bet on Microsoft. Here's Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term compounder, with some saying the stock looks cheaper than it has in years on a cash-flow basis. Is Microsoft Stock a Steal Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Microsoft’s move away from an overly dependent OpenAI relationship could be beneficial over time because customers increasingly want access to multiple AI models rather than one exclusive partner. Why Microsoft's Split With OpenAI May Be Great for the Stock in the Long Run

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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