Vinva Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 316,860 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,828 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.9% of Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $135,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the third 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after purchasing an additional 652,493 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,426,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,904,450 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,007,285,000 after purchasing an additional 636,713 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $410.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $432.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.44.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.