Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.0% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.20% of Microsoft worth $288,336,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake 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 buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0%

Microsoft stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $458.77. 34,758,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,504,528. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $409.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $415.17. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 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.