Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Raised by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 53.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 751,919 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 262,500 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.7% of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $316,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $6.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $478.87. 18,905,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,503,895. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $480.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $423.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $417.84. 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 announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.89.

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.