Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s Largest Position

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,147,858 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,485 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.3% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $493,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 241.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $443.57 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $421.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $364.13 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp raised their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,843,807.85. This trade represents a 10.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total value of $874,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 51,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,675,916.64. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,578 shares of company stock worth $24,450,096. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.