E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 736,068 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.4% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's holdings in Microsoft were worth $274,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Trading Up 1.8%
Shares of MSFT opened at $505.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's 50-day moving average is $428.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $411.73. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.
Get Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Microsoft News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced a long-term partnership with Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN to bring Arabic-language ALLAM AI models to Microsoft Foundry and Microsoft 365 Copilot. The agreement strengthens Microsoft’s enterprise-AI reach in the Middle East and could support additional Azure and Copilot adoption. Microsoft Expands Middle East AI Footprint Through Long-Term HUMAIN Deal
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and ChronoScale reportedly plan a 50-megawatt AI-compute deployment using NVIDIA GB300 systems. The project signals continued demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure, although it also implies substantial near-term capital spending. ChronoScale and Microsoft Plan 50 MW AI Compute Deployment
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Superintelligence team is pursuing internally developed frontier models and greater AI self-sufficiency. Building proprietary models could reduce dependence on outside providers and improve long-term economics if execution is successful. Microsoft AI Self-Sufficiency Strategy
- Positive Sentiment: Investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square reportedly made Microsoft its largest AI-related holding after reducing Alphabet exposure, adding an influential vote of confidence in Microsoft’s cloud, AI and backlog outlook. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Microsoft Investment
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% 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 Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Microsoft Profile
(
Free Report)
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).
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