China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 25,388 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 23.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,927 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 25,388 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.3% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $56,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $430.53 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $428.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $428.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.