Cinctive Capital Management LP Invests $11.97 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 28,387 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $11,965,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4%

Microsoft stock traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $472.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,371,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,517,831. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $476.16. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $420.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $417.46. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Company 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.