Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Acquires 37,739 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,805,818 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,739 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.2% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.08% of Microsoft worth $2,179,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $524.94 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $494.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $437.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

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.