Lingotto Investment Management LLP Sells 14,564 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Lingotto Investment Management LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,526 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 14,564 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.0% of Lingotto Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Lingotto Investment Management LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,314,000. Centric Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,789,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $9.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $435.28. 30,732,671 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,356,348. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $384.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $411.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.