Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $1.14 Billion Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Impax Asset Management Group plc reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,646,934 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 129,932 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.5% of Impax Asset Management Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,137,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0 %

MSFT traded up $4.45 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $429.03. 26,146,013 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,227,436. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $429.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.14.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.93.

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.