12,725 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bought by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,725 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,333,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Partners increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 1,516 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,577 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,602,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 4,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV increased its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 7,166 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $356.53 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $219.35 and a 52 week high of $366.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $328.84 and a 200-day moving average of $326.95.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. StockNews.com began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Guggenheim raised Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.34.

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.