Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 53.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,641 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.6% of E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% in 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 valued at $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $524.11 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $489.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.94. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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.

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