Rothschild Investment LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 71,606 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $32,004,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.2% of Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,996,360 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $750,711,000 after buying an additional 8,482 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 327.7% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 3,943 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 4,285 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Microsoft by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,754 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $415.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $417.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.74.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.47.

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.