Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. Has $12.75 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Gibraltar Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,629 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 5.7% of Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Gibraltar Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $2,645,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $882,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% during the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,137,000 after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Harbor Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 55.9% during the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $430.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $428.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $428.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.