Wedge Capital Management L.L.P. of North Carolina has reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 8.2% during the second quarter, as revealed in its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm now holds 142,545 shares of Microsoft after selling 12,753 shares during the quarter, which represents approximately 1.3% of its investment portfolio, making it the third-largest holding. As of the recent filing, Wedge Capital Management’s holdings in Microsoft were valued at around $70.9 million.
Several other institutional investors have also made noteworthy changes to their investments in Microsoft. Norges Bank acquired a significant new position in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44.34 billion. Meanwhile, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC saw a dramatic increase in its shares, boosting its holdings by an astonishing 564,387.1%, bringing its total to over 90 million shares worth $45 billion. Additionally, Nuveen LLC purchased new shares in the first quarter valued at $18.73 billion, and GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings by 40,290.4% during the same period. Northern Trust Corp also raised its stake by 16.1% in the last quarter. Currently, institutional investors control approximately 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
On the trading front, Microsoft shares opened at $514.60. The company boasts a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73. Notably, Microsoft recently released its latest quarterly earnings, showcasing a robust performance with earnings per share of $3.65, surpassing analysts’ estimates of $3.35. The company reported a revenue of $76.44 billion, well above the projected $73.79 billion, marking an 18.1% year-over-year increase.
In a positive shift for shareholders, Microsoft announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.83 to $0.91, which will be distributed on December 11 to stockholders of record as of November 20. This change represents a $3.64 annualized dividend, yielding approximately 0.7%.
Insider trading activity has also seen notable movements, with EVP Takeshi Numoto selling 4,850 shares at $527.32, reducing ownership by 11.03%. CEO Satya Nadella also sold 149,205 shares at an average of $504.78, lowering his stake by 15.87%. Despite these sales, the company’s corporate insiders currently own a mere 0.03% of Microsoft.
Analyst ratings for Microsoft are overall positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from multiple research firms. Recently, DA Davidson and Truist Financial issued price target increases on Microsoft stock to $650.00 and $675.00, respectively, while KeyCorp upgraded its rating to “overweight” with a $630.00 target.
With consistent performance metrics and positive analyst sentiment, Microsoft continues to be a significant player in the technology sector, poised for future growth and shareholder value enhancement.