105,202,984 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 105,202,984 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. Microsoft accounts for about 5.8% of Norges Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.42% of Microsoft at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $120,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 132,743 shares of company stock worth $58,835,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.13.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $462.97 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $411.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.62.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Microsoft Company 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.