Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Cuts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,010,160 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 376,803 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.8% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,278,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 43,900.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,042,499 shares of the software giant's stock worth $860,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037,857 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $458.17. 15,422,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,559,327. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $396.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $412.71.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated 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 research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,243 shares of company stock worth $48,619,618 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.