Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 5,905 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 551,948 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 5,905 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.9% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $232,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $9.88 on Friday, hitting $435.28. 30,732,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,372,060. The company has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $384.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $411.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.