Krane Funds Advisors LLC Has $2.86 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 23.3% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 1,437 shares, resulting in a total of 7,615 shares valued at approximately $2.86 million.
• Microsoft recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.65, surpassing expectations, along with a revenue of $76.44 billion, reflecting an 18.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, set to be paid on September 11th, 2023, which indicates a 0.6% yield with a payout ratio of 24.34%.

Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 23.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,615 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.1% of Krane Funds Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Krane Funds Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,350 shares of company stock worth $14,162,567 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $7.4250 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $509.6750. The company had a trading volume of 12,654,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,237,453. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $503.49 and a 200-day moving average of $441.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

About Microsoft

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.