JCIC Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,858 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,053 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.9% of JCIC Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. JCIC Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 6,129,708 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $68,824,173,000 after buying an additional 1,951,554 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $57,810,889,000 after buying an additional 1,537,712 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 556,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% during 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 buying an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Guggenheim upgraded Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Argus increased their target price on Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price objective on Microsoft and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.34.
Insider Activity
In other news, 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 owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $332.42 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $324.81 and a 200 day moving average of $320.83. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $213.43 and a 12 month high of $366.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.07%.
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.
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