Retirement Solution LLC increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,096 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of Retirement Solution LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Retirement Solution LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,720,874,000 after buying an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th 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 worth $25,273,704,000 after buying an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's 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 $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%
Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $505.87. The company had a trading volume of 16,378,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,593,527. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $481.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $430.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $514.64.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation 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, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $494.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price target (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $548.36.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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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