BlueSpruce Investments LP Raises Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

BlueSpruce Investments LP grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,472,499 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 546,403 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 12.6% of BlueSpruce Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. BlueSpruce Investments LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $620,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bowie Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC now owns 330,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $139,426,000 after purchasing an additional 25,071 shares in the last quarter. Bramshill Investments LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 166.2% during the fourth quarter. Bramshill Investments LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 142.9% during the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,905,000. Finally, Bulltick Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $479.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a PEG 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 one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $480.69. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $430.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.94.

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 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 company 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 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.68.

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.