Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,686,937 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 131,847 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.2% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $725,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $409.75 on Monday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $431.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.56.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.