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Fourier Capital Management Ltd Invests $7.43 Million in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

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Key Points

  • Fourier Capital Management Ltd disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Microsoft, buying 15,363 shares worth about $7.43 million. Microsoft now accounts for roughly 7.9% of the firm’s portfolio and is its sixth-largest holding.
  • Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.27 per share beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 18.3% year over year, underscoring continued business growth.
  • The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, for an annualized dividend of $3.64 and a yield of about 0.9%. Meanwhile, insider selling by senior executives was noted, including CEO Judson Althoff’s recent share sale.
  • MarketBeat previews the top five stocks to own by July 1st.

Fourier Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,363 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,430,000. Microsoft makes up about 7.9% of Fourier Capital Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $428.05 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $406.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $432.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Melius Research set a $430.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $561.20.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Microsoft Profile

(Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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