Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Raised by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,805,818 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 37,739 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.2% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.08% of Microsoft worth $2,179,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,528,950,000 after buying an additional 46,579,693 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after buying an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $288,336,224,000 after buying an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.20 on Friday, hitting $522.04. 15,514,819 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,829,278. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $496.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $438.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

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.