Swiss National Bank Sells 1,009,500 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,948,270 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,009,500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 5.6% of Swiss National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Microsoft worth $8,408,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th 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. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $5.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $452.57. 19,196,249 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,549,924. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $398.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $413.04.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,243 shares of company stock valued at $48,619,618 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.63.

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.