Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by AJ Advisors LLC

AJ Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 43.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,409 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.8% of AJ Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. AJ Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,497,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Microsoft by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bensler LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 86,932 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $27,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $399.04 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $292.73 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $414.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $387.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.