Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Trimmed by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,691,421 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 173,454 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.3% of Retirement Systems of Alabama's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,158,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 4.1% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $20,322,513,000 after buying an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after acquiring an additional 38,422,466 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after acquiring an additional 406,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $408.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $429.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.04. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.96.

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.

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