Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 206.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,164 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,178 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.7% of Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $423.46 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $420.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.55. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other 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 value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.