Mirova US LLC Has $652.03 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mirova US LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,546,921 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 46,448 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 7.8% of Mirova US LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Mirova US LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $652,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.55 on Thursday, hitting $458.91. 2,829,818 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,517,713. The company's 50 day moving average price is $406.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $414.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. 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, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

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.