Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Has $6.67 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,500 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.4% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 5.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 8,565 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Schubert & Co grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 1,431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 11,231,478 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,832,905,000 after acquiring an additional 118,380 shares during the last quarter. Chronos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the third quarter. Chronos Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,295 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,897,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195,009 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $83,912,000 after purchasing an additional 7,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $443.33 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $421.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.11. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $364.13 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.