Oriental Harbor Investment Fund Acquires New Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Oriental Harbor Investment Fund bought a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 225,956 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $95,683,000. Microsoft comprises 10.7% of Oriental Harbor Investment Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $408.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $429.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.04. 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 Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

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.