Graphene Investments SAS boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,100 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.1% of Graphene Investments SAS's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Graphene Investments SAS's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company'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 owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wedbush increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $520.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business's 50 day moving average is $495.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.64. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.06.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The company's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.
About Microsoft
(
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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