Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Actiam N.V.’s 2nd Largest Position

Actiam N.V. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,759,444 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,054 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 34.1% of Actiam N.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Actiam N.V.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $485,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. PayPay Securities Corp purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Gleason Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 111.7% during the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% during the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $319.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $334.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.23. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total value of $418,462.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,588.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total value of $418,462.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 874 shares in the company, valued at $292,588.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Redburn Partners cut their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.68.

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.