Pamplona Capital Management LLC Invests $92.76 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Pamplona Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 220,062 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $92,756,000. Microsoft comprises about 13.2% of Pamplona Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 18,052 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,789,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,274,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $7,345,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded up $3.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $467.68. 20,083,146 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,471,689. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $413.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $415.95. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $469.58.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total transaction of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Four research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.13.

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.