Banco Santander S.A. Grows Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 672,666 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 10,545 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.4% of Banco Santander S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $283,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th 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 period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Riverstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $3.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $452.94. 19,864,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,511,825. The company has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $391.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $411.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.