ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,012 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,845 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.5% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,396,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 10,761 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in Microsoft by 6.6% in the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 1,518,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $437,855,000 after purchasing an additional 94,563 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% in the first quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 11,951 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,445,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter worth about $159,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Microsoft 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 transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft 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 transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Microsoft Trading Down 1.0 %
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is 30.96%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $345.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $335.00 to $415.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.34.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft
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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