Banco Santander S.A. Has $284.91 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 662,121 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 12,296 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.4% of Banco Santander S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $284,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 92,292 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,700,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. RW Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the third quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 10,957 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,715,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 11.6% in the third quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 12,912 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 23,272 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,014,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 101,990 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,886,000 after buying an additional 8,692 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.9 %

Microsoft stock opened at $447.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $431.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $425.08. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.66.

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.