Krane Funds Advisors LLC Purchases 1,437 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 23.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,615 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.1% of Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% in 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 period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $520.17 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $502.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $441.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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 return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.