Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,254,454 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 27,268 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.4% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,400,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant's stock worth $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant's stock worth $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,830,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $2.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $444.06. The stock had a trading volume of 15,539,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,490,811. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $431.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $509.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.66.

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.