Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,451,441 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.0% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $624,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,767,000 after buying an additional 97,075 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,768,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563,533 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,587,576,000 after acquiring an additional 45,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,890,530,000 after acquiring an additional 49,288 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.46.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $436.60. 54,224,020 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,730,301. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $427.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.42.

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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