BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Buys 14,429 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 51.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,252 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 14,429 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.6% of BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th 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. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $4.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $479.14. The company had a trading volume of 15,536,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,515,256. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $428.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $418.55. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $480.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.