Enhancing Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Enhancing Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,037 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $10,553,000. Microsoft comprises 8.4% of Enhancing Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,809,058 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $762,518,000 after purchasing an additional 43,454 shares in the last quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. now owns 3,137 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $265,917,000. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 107,674 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $45,385,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Finally, Entrewealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $381,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded up $10.51 on Tuesday, hitting $460.69. The company had a trading volume of 20,932,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,585,267. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $403.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $414.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.