IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,871 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.9% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,031,145 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,801,720,000 after acquiring an additional 227,475 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 968,000 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $421,899,000 after acquiring an additional 26,024 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,346 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $37,698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 674,417 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $301,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in Microsoft by 34.2% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 361,377 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $161,566,000 after purchasing an additional 92,093 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $416.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $418.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $425.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $314.90 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.