Bishop Rock Capital L.P. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 17.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,763 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,608 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 7.5% of Bishop Rock Capital L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Bishop Rock Capital L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,017,948,000 after acquiring an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 35,465.9% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,553,188 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,638,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652,150 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 98.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,218,570 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,649,717,000 after acquiring an additional 7,534,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Microsoft from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.68.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $337.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.
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.
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