Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2,839.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,612,445 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,557,582 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.9% of World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $693,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,108,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,997 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $409.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $431.44 and a 200-day moving average of $423.56. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were 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 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 have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.