Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Kraft Asset Management LLC

Kraft Asset Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,137 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.4% of Kraft Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Kraft Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $435.27 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $420.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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 return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Microsoft 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.