TIAA Trust National Association Raises Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 739,983 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 15,660 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.9% of TIAA Trust National Association's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in Microsoft were worth $311,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business'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 directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 132,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,835,683 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $464.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,811,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,406,051. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $411.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $415.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

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.