Saiph Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Saiph Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,262 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.6% of Saiph Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Saiph Capital LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $10.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $460.69. 20,932,633 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,585,267. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $403.62 and a 200 day moving average of $414.03.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft 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 owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.