Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Acquires New Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,562 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $4,452,000. Microsoft makes up about 4.3% of Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $477.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $437.84 and a 200 day moving average of $420.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $483.46.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were 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 $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 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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