Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 399,593 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 11,517 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.9% of Securian Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $168,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,922 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,976,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 15,864 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,687,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,372,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,634,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,243 shares of company stock valued at $48,619,618 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.30.
Read Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%
MSFT stock traded down $0.70 on Tuesday, reaching $458.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,422,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,538,085. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $396.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $412.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.
Microsoft Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.
While Microsoft currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering where to start (or end) with AI stocks? These 10 simple stocks can help investors build long-term wealth as artificial intelligence continues to grow into the future.
Get This Free Report
