Kitching Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Kitching Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,118 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000. Microsoft comprises about 0.6% of Kitching Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $412.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $432.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.