Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lifted by GAM Holding AG

GAM Holding AG lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,364 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 10,717 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.7% of GAM Holding AG's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Microsoft were worth $73,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $9.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $524.03. The company had a trading volume of 13,043,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,325,803. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company's fifty day moving average price is $488.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $434.13. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

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.