Cigna Investments Inc. New Has $30.46 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cigna Investments Inc. New lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,431 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 720 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.6% of Cigna Investments Inc. New’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 634,238,715 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,714,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,129,708 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 295,509,547 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,824,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,554 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 200,523,373 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,810,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537,712 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 195,859,819 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $50,302,677,000 after purchasing an additional 556,020 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after acquiring an additional 150,053,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $369.85 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $219.35 and a 52-week high of $376.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $336.17 and its 200 day moving average is $331.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Microsoft from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. HSBC raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $347.00 to $413.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $415.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was 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 owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.