Ifrah Financial Services Inc. Has $3.97 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ifrah Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,654 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.2% of Ifrah Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Ifrah Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,342 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,469 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $351,001,000 after purchasing an additional 196,338 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,919,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. HSBC raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $347.00 to $413.00 in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.11.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $369.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $219.35 and a 12-month high of $376.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

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.