Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda increased its Microsoft stake by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 71,402 shares worth about $34.5 million. Microsoft is now the fund’s 5th largest holding and makes up 6.6% of its portfolio.
• Several major institutional investors also boosted their positions in Microsoft, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
• Microsoft beat quarterly expectations with $4.27 EPS on $82.89 billion in revenue, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $560.88.

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,402 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 8,277 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 6.6% of Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda's holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock worth $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.88.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $421.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $398.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $441.39. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Microsoft Profile

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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