SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 224,710 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $94,715,000. Microsoft makes up about 2.9% of SBI Securities Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

Microsoft stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $438.73. 15,313,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,422,204. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $389.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $411.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (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 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. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group 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 note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.