Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 900,703 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 15,062 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 13.5% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $338,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 647.8% during the 4th quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $430.52 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $432.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $416.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $397.95.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $454.70.

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.