Factory Mutual Insurance Co. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,159,392 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 40,100 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.8% of Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $394,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the second quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,396,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 10,761 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Planning Center Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 24.4% during the second quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 4,849 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Microsoft by 6.6% during the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 1,518,749 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $437,855,000 after purchasing an additional 94,563 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the second quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 19,877 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,769,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $345.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $384.34.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
About Microsoft
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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