Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lifted by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,481,329 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 172,282 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 7.7% of Axiom Investors LLC DE's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Axiom Investors LLC DE's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,045,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,052,704 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,675,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after buying an additional 406,940 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.59.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $2.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $470.38. The company had a trading volume of 15,271,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,523,496. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $473.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $417.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $416.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Microsoft 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.