Centre Asset Management LLC Has $19.35 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Centre Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,900 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.4% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,873,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 115,610 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $48,730,000 after acquiring an additional 13,207 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 35,205 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,734 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South boosted its stake in Microsoft by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 19,411 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 3,143 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $408.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $428.76 and its 200-day moving average is $422.94.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.