Nixon Peabody Trust Co. cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,345 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,109 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.7% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $68,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in 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 increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,563,533 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 20,957,770 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,018,128,000 after buying an additional 57,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 18,388,106 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,912,402,000 after acquiring an additional 251,408 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $548.00 to $540.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $509.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.66.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Price Performance
MSFT stock traded down $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $444.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,539,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,490,811. The firm 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. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $431.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.82.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.
Microsoft Profile
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Free Report)
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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