Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 67.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,963,863 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,404,348 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.7% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.08% of Microsoft worth $2,566,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.9% in the third quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd now owns 33,750 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $14,523,000 after purchasing an additional 7,970 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 61,908 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $26,639,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.9% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the third quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 9,760 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,200,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Yoder Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 11.8% in the third quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,861 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $508.46.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $436.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $366.50 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $427.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $428.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

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.