Generali Investments Management Co LLC Invests $26.48 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 62,833 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $26,484,000. Microsoft makes up 6.8% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. raised its position in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 18,052 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,789,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,980,299,000 after buying an additional 217,509 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $459.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,957,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,508,213. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $407.73 and a 200-day moving average of $414.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft 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.