Verum Partners LLC Has $3.63 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Verum Partners LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,113 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.2% of Verum Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Verum Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $408.39 on Friday. 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 $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $428.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $422.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. New Street Research began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

About Microsoft

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.