Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Solstein Capital LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Solstein Capital LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,427 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.1% of Solstein Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Solstein Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Microsoft by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $679,928,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,375,375 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,749,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 243.6% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,151,555 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $679,353,000 after buying an additional 1,525,367 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $400.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $414.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $386.37. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $275.37 and a 52-week high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.05.

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.