Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lifted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,957,770 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,800 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.9% of Swiss National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Microsoft worth $9,018,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $446.71 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $430.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.66.

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.