National Pension Service Has $5.69 Billion Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,229,414 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,707,436 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.5% of National Pension Service’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. National Pension Service’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,692,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $423.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $366.50 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $428.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $428.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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.