Hosking Partners LLP Increases Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hosking Partners LLP boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,243 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,839 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.4% of Hosking Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 295,509,547 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,824,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,554 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 200,523,373 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,810,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537,712 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 556,020 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 150,053,637 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. HSBC raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $347.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.06.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $377.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $336.96 and a 200-day moving average of $332.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $219.35 and a 1-year high of $378.87.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Microsoft 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.