Blue Capital Inc. Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Blue Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,744 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of Blue Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $479.14 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $480.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $430.54 and its 200 day moving average is $418.94.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $565.00 price target (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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