Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153,358 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,087 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.4% of Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after acquiring an additional 46,579,693 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

MSFT stock traded down $2.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $501.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,466,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,666,022. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $467.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.96. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $506.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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.