Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 3,091,391 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,510,787 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,091,391 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.2% of Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.21% of Microsoft worth $6,537,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after buying an additional 16,788,816 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,539 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $2.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $470.38. 15,271,762 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,491,705. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $415.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.31. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $473.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. 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 posted $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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 Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

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.