Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Sells 3,811 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 317,823 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,811 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.1% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $119,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,625,201,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised 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 valued at $2,633,912,000 after buying an additional 5,150,160 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $679,928,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $414.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $306.26 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $413.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $392.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

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.