Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,812,711 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 26,941 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.8% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Microsoft worth $1,607,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,312,000. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $71,268,000. X Square Capital LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 6,158 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 437.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 134,786 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $56,812,000 after purchasing an additional 109,727 shares during the period. Finally, Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 89,325 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $37,650,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related 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 value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $3.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $467.68. 20,083,146 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,471,689. The business's fifty day moving average is $413.59 and its 200-day moving average is $415.95. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $469.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.