Flputnam Investment Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 504,636 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 18,191 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.5% of Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $189,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,255,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,089,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,497,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,967,000 after acquiring an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $2.84 on Tuesday, hitting $416.56. 14,314,603 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,565,662. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business's fifty day moving average is $413.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $394.32. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $307.59 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $480.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $452.61.

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.