Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,599,352 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 51,706 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.6% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Microsoft worth $6,575,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $11.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $377.95. 4,482,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,177,769. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $386.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $430.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.63.

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.