Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd’s 9th Largest Position

Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,680 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.3% of Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,987,007 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,152,647,000 after buying an additional 2,456,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,625,201,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

Microsoft stock traded up $7.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $406.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,640,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $295.25 and a one year high of $430.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $414.48 and a 200-day moving average of $387.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.