Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,240,236 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 186,159 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.2% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,216,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after purchasing an additional 46,579,693 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $524.11 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $489.94 and a 200 day moving average of $434.94.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

About Microsoft

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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