Unique Wealth LLC Raises Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Unique Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,891 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.1% of Unique Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Unique Wealth LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after purchasing an additional 652,493 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $7.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $408.25. 27,440,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,130,024. The company has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $425.20 and a 200 day moving average of $422.69. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $1,077,175.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 53,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,203,211.24. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,820. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.