Mirova US LLC Has $652.03 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mirova US LLC lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,546,921 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 46,448 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 7.8% of Mirova US LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Mirova US LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $652,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $450.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $402.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $413.85. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.