Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lessened by OFI Invest Asset Management

OFI Invest Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 641,206 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 242,373,207 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.7% of OFI Invest Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $218,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% in the first 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. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 57.5% in the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth about $97,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $366.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $333.07 and a 200 day moving average of $330.11. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $219.35 and a 1 year high of $370.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors 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 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $347.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Redburn Partners reduced their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $384.34.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.