Waterloo Capital L.P. Purchases 1,467 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,721 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.4% of Waterloo Capital L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $472.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $475.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $423.22 and a 200 day moving average of $417.84.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $513.89.

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.