Perennial Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 74,944 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $31,589,000. Microsoft makes up 6.9% of Perennial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $480.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $436.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $420.16. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $481.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.