Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is R Squared Ltd's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd increased its Microsoft stake by 56.6% in the fourth quarter, owning 4,126 shares worth about $1.995 million. Microsoft is now its 9th-largest position and makes up roughly 0.9% of the portfolio.
• Institutional interest in Microsoft remains strong, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 71.13% of the stock. Several analysts also stayed bullish, leaving Microsoft with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $560.88.
• Microsoft posted solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. The company also announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend, payable June 11.

R Squared Ltd grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 56.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,126 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.9% of R Squared Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. R Squared Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd 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. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft to $502.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a large new Microsoft stake, signaling strong confidence in MSFT’s long-term AI and cloud growth prospects. Billionaire Bill Ackman Just Made a Massive Bet on Microsoft. Here's Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term compounder, with some saying the stock looks cheaper than it has in years on a cash-flow basis. Is Microsoft Stock a Steal Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Microsoft’s move away from an overly dependent OpenAI relationship could be beneficial over time because customers increasingly want access to multiple AI models rather than one exclusive partner. Why Microsoft's Split With OpenAI May Be Great for the Stock in the Long Run

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $399.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $436.24.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

About Microsoft

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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