Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Ninety One SA PTY Ltd

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,302 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 17,059 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 9.1% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $59,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,255,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $0.78 on Friday, reaching $420.21. The company had a trading volume of 15,352,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,311,700. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $415.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $396.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $480.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $454.70.

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.