Independent Investors Inc. Lowers Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Independent Investors Inc. lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,528 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.5% of Independent Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Independent Investors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,439,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,539 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in Microsoft by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,032,859,000 after buying an additional 2,222,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $382.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $367.24 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $402.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.86.

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.