Tredje AP fonden Raises Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Tredje AP fonden raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,440,485 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 158,106 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.5% of Tredje AP fonden’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $415,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,852,000 after buying an additional 20,553,188 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,638,815,000 after buying an additional 14,652,150 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,218,570 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,649,717,000 after buying an additional 7,534,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $333.55 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $213.43 and a one year high of $366.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $332.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.33. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.