Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Banco BTG Pactual S.A.

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,158 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 8,011 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.9% of Banco BTG Pactual S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $1.45 on Wednesday, reaching $464.42. The stock had a trading volume of 7,698,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,424,473. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day moving average is $411.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $415.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 132,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,835,683 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

About Microsoft

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.