Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lifted by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,491,343 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,855 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,941,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

Microsoft stock opened at $522.04 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $496.85 and a 200 day moving average of $438.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

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.