Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Capital International Ltd. CA

Capital International Ltd. CA raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,156 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,818 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 5.3% of Capital International Ltd. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Capital International Ltd. CA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $129,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th 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. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th 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. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $474.96 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $428.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.65. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $480.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. 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 (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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 value of $460,010.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.