Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC Has $7.87 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,610 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 6.6% of Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Microsoft stock opened at $433.51 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $420.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

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.