Ascent Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 5,822 Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ascent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,822 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,454,000. Microsoft comprises 2.5% of Ascent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC now owns 3,914 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $1,369,000. Avalon Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 241,415 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $101,756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $454.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $401.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $413.59. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 price objective (up previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.