Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,899 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 14,604 shares during the quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $2,645,000. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,314,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $7.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $388.45. 23,826,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,240,524. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $391.89 and its 200-day moving average is $414.53.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $505.41.

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.