Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Purchases 118 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,713 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.2% of Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,255,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $550,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $436.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.