QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 50,121 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,228,198 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,121 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.7% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $528,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,767,000 after acquiring an additional 97,075 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the second 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. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after acquiring an additional 45,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,890,530,000 after purchasing an additional 49,288 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

MSFT stock opened at $423.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $428.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.35. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.90.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction 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 $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.