Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Verum Partners LLC

Verum Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,885 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.2% of Verum Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,255,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Microsoft by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after buying an additional 18,200 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,967,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $453.55 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $435.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $416.36. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.86.

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.