Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 894,858 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 75,262 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.4% of Erste Asset Management GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Microsoft were worth $370,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related 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 transaction 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 $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,243 shares of company stock valued at $48,619,618. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.63.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $5.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $452.57. 19,196,249 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,549,924. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $398.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $413.04. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

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.