Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lifted by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,902,994 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 21,164 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.1% of Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,089,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 72,198 shares of the software giant's stock worth $27,102,000 after buying an additional 11,647 shares during the last quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 4,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,865,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 7,017 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,634,000 after buying an additional 2,163 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 61,431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,061,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coerente Capital Management lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Coerente Capital Management now owns 120,936 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $45,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $503.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.90, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $470.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $425.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $506.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Securities upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.14.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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