Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Decreased by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 259,497 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 10,184 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 6.9% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $109,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 target price (down from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $3.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $367.78. 20,940,221 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,277,339. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $413.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

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.