Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Lessened by London & Capital Asset Management Ltd

London & Capital Asset Management Ltd lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,893 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 31,809 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 7.1% of London & Capital Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $92,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ceeto Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 24,555 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,331,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. NWI Management LP lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 196.2% during the first quarter. NWI Management LP now owns 385,000 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $161,977,000 after purchasing an additional 255,000 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in Microsoft by 8.7% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 586,917 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $246,928,000 after purchasing an additional 46,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manhattan West Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 12.9% in the first quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 47,265 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,885,000 after buying an additional 5,416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.47 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $436.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

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.