Invesco Ltd. Raises Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFTFree Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,248,561 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 578,613 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.1% of Invesco Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.53% of Microsoft worth $16,543,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 969,365 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,909,468,000 after purchasing an additional 18,160 shares during the period. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $833,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 87,555 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,904,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.89.

Get Our Latest Report on Microsoft

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $478.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $425.64 and a 200 day moving average of $418.26. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $480.42. 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:MSFTGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.66%.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFTFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.