Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 232.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,032 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,258 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.8% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.80 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $436.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.66. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th 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 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

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.