Graphene Investments SAS Has $5.65 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Graphene Investments SAS lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 37.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,400 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 8,100 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.9% of Graphene Investments SAS's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Graphene Investments SAS's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 46.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,032,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,483 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock worth $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $3.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $354.56. The company had a trading volume of 35,677,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,982,522. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $393.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $415.52.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Microsoft from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.00.

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.