Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its Microsoft stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, but MSFT remains its 2nd-largest holding and makes up 5.5% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping expectations, while quarterly sales rose 18.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share and continues to attract bullish analyst and investor interest, though it faces some regulatory and workforce-related overhangs.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,051,592 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 58,847 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.5% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.09% of Microsoft worth $3,413,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,372,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. PMG Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,347,000 after buying an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant's stock worth $493,860,000 after buying an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $421.92 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $398.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $441.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Phillip Securities raised Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.