Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 167,756 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $71,268,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.9% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,789,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,274,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $462.97 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $411.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $415.62. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,647,150.58. This trade represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 132,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,835,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.