Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Raised by McDonough Capital Management Inc

McDonough Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,836 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 7.3% of McDonough Capital Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. McDonough Capital Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Black Swift Group LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 231.2% during the 4th quarter. Black Swift Group LLC now owns 15,241 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,424,000 after purchasing an additional 10,639 shares in the last quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 20,919 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,817,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,165,000. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,548 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 269,134 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,440,000 after acquiring an additional 7,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $3.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $452.94. 19,864,490 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,486,259. The stock's 50-day moving average is $391.20 and its 200-day moving average is $411.86. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

About Microsoft

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.