GAM Holding AG Increases Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

GAM Holding AG boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 217,811 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.1% of GAM Holding AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $81,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,497,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,516,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bensler LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 86,932 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $27,449,000 after buying an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $409.06 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $275.37 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $414.59 and a 200 day moving average of $387.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.05.

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.