Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 791,058 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,760 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.3% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $353,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.1% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 851,946 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $380,777,000 after buying an additional 41,560 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $389,000. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the second quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,837 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,419,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 109,322 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $48,862,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 16,075 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,185,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $426.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $420.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.58. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $331.83 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $502.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.