Moment Partners LLC Invests $3.37 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Moment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,995 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,370,000. Microsoft accounts for about 0.6% of Moment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

MSFT stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $463.87. 14,135,414 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,449,429. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $411.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $415.62. The company has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,835,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.