Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Boosted by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 513,331 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 8,812 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.8% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Microsoft were worth $192,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Fosun International Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $522.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $496.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $438.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.