Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in Microsoft by 2.5%, holding 933,540 shares valued at approximately $353.63 million, making it the firm's third largest position.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Norges Bank, recently increased their holdings in Microsoft, reflecting widespread confidence in the stock among major investors.
• Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.7%, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 933,540 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 23,712 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.9% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $353,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during 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 period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of MSFT traded down $12.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $495.00. 31,963,969 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,259,959. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $509.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm'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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.