AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Lowers Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,438,258 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 278,172 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 8.0% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $605,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Granite FO LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $1,707,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $1,537,000. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 6.9% in the second quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,385,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $388.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $412.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $420.55. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.43.

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.