Bluesphere Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,682 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.4% of Bluesphere Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Bluesphere Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,362,000 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. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 634,238,715 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,714,197,000 after acquiring an additional 6,129,708 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 295,509,547 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,824,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,554 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 200,523,373 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,810,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537,712 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 195,859,819 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $50,302,677,000 after purchasing an additional 556,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after purchasing an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Up 2.5 %
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.34.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
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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