GAM Holding AG Boosts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,811 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.1% of GAM Holding AG’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $81,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 155,334 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,412,000 after acquiring an additional 10,883 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 4,139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,058 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washburn Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,622 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,242,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $409.06 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $275.37 and a 12-month high of $430.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $414.59 and a 200-day moving average of $387.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Macquarie boosted their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.05.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.