Torren Management LLC Acquires New Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Torren Management LLC opened a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 3,029 shares valued at about $1.465 million. Microsoft now makes up roughly 0.7% of the firm’s holdings.
• Microsoft’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, reporting EPS of $4.27 versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion versus $81.44 billion expected. Revenue also rose 18.3% year over year, highlighting continued strong growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, which works out to an annualized dividend of $3.64 and a yield of about 0.9%. Meanwhile, analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $560.88.

Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,029 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,465,000. Microsoft makes up about 0.7% of Torren Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $418.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $399.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $436.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a large new Microsoft stake, signaling strong confidence in MSFT’s long-term AI and cloud growth prospects. Billionaire Bill Ackman Just Made a Massive Bet on Microsoft. Here's Why.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong long-term compounder, with some saying the stock looks cheaper than it has in years on a cash-flow basis. Is Microsoft Stock a Steal Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say Microsoft’s move away from an overly dependent OpenAI relationship could be beneficial over time because customers increasingly want access to multiple AI models rather than one exclusive partner. Why Microsoft's Split With OpenAI May Be Great for the Stock in the Long Run

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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