Gladstone Capital Management LLP Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gladstone Capital Management LLP cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,635 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 86,710 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 8.6% of Gladstone Capital Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Gladstone Capital Management LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $103,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,490,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 27,828 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,729,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Dempze Nancy E grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 15,233 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,421,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $919,341,000. Finally, ROI Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,091 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,204,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.57.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

MSFT stock opened at $470.92 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $473.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $420.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $417.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $3.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.