denkapparat Operations GmbH Acquires New Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,798 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000. Microsoft comprises about 1.7% of denkapparat Operations GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverchase Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $753,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 65,248 shares of the software giant's stock worth $27,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,271,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,643,215,000 after purchasing an additional 935,209 shares during the last quarter. Tepp RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $778,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,812,711 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,607,058,000 after purchasing an additional 26,941 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $3.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $467.68. The stock had a trading volume of 20,083,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,471,689. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $413.59 and a 200 day moving average of $415.95. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $469.58.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.13.

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.