Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Trinity Street Asset Management LLP

Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,366 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,733 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.1% of Trinity Street Asset Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,152,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456,190 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $9,625,201,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,796,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 10,671,615 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,369,562,000 after acquiring an additional 88,583 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $406.32 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $295.25 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $388.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.