Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 531,903 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,498,412 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 531,903 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.8% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,053,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $459.26. 1,957,818 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,508,213. The company's 50-day moving average price is $407.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.89. The company has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.