Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,812,711 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,941 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.8% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.05% of Microsoft worth $1,607,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 132,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,835,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $462.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $411.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $415.62.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

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.