Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s Largest Position

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,530,163 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 122,604 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 7.3% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $643,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $446.95 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $424.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $410.15. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $456.17. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.12.

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.