Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Raised by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,610 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 13,207 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.2% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $48,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $408.43 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $428.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total transaction of $423,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 56,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,931,278.28. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

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.