Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Vinva Investment Management Ltd's 3rd Largest Position

Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,408 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 15,548 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.5% of Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $141,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3%

MSFT traded up $10.51 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $460.69. The stock had a trading volume of 20,932,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,585,267. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $403.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $414.03. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft 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.