Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Sells 34,896 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 40.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,407 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 34,896 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.7% of Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded up $6.80 on Tuesday, hitting $382.19. The company had a trading volume of 19,648,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,595,340. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company's fifty day moving average price is $404.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $418.77. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $367.24 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Company 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.