Rakuten Securities Inc. Trims Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Rakuten Securities Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,293 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.4% of Rakuten Securities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MSFT opened at $454.27 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $395.33 and a 200 day moving average of $412.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.30.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.