Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $1.72 Billion Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,086,434 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,523 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.9% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.05% of Microsoft worth $1,722,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after buying an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,052,704 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,675,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,579 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,104,959,000 after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,228,502 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,898,314,000 after purchasing an additional 324,052 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $1.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $454.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,797,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,538,550. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's 50-day moving average is $395.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $412.61. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $509.16.

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.