Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,830 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.1% of Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $414.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $432.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.95. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.72.

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.