Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 15,701,937 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.5% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.95% of Microsoft worth $250,032,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,625,201,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,000,376,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,004,341 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,633,912,000 after purchasing an additional 5,150,160 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $465.83.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $448.37 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $418.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $405.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $450.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

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.