Franklin Resources Inc. Has $16.10 Billion Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.5% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Microsoft worth $16,104,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted 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 worth $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,997 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $410.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $430.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $423.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

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.