Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Acquires 1,297 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,897 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $466,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 10.0% in the third quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,052 shares of the software giant's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3%

Microsoft stock traded up $6.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $478.87. 18,905,074 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,507,291. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $480.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $423.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $417.84.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

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.