Sustainable Growth Advisers LP reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,110,508 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 383,457 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 6.6% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,311,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,321,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,324,000. Phillips Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 105,544 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $44,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the period. Finally, Elite Life Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Elite Life Management LLC now owns 3,252 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of MSFT opened at $458.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $398.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $413.04. 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 $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
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 paid 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 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 110,243 shares of company stock worth $48,619,618. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.30.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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