Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Unigestion Holding SA's 2nd Largest Position

Unigestion Holding SA lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 157,220 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 32,387 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.8% of Unigestion Holding SA's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Microsoft were worth $66,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aristides Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 19,970 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Ashburton Jersey Ltd grew its stake in Microsoft by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd now owns 71,082 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,961,000 after buying an additional 11,614 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,145,256 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $904,226,000 after acquiring an additional 32,584 shares during the period. Oribel Capital Management LP lifted its position in Microsoft by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Oribel Capital Management LP now owns 216,600 shares of the software giant's stock worth $91,297,000 after acquiring an additional 39,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alcosta Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,911 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,392,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.89.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $6.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $478.87. 18,905,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,507,291. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $480.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $423.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $417.84.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Microsoft Company 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.