RedJay Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

RedJay Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,000 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,259,000. Microsoft comprises 4.5% of RedJay Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $520.58 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $500.51 and its 200 day moving average is $439.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.