Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Sage Mountain Advisors LLC

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,706 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,130 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.8% of Sage Mountain Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $454.27. 23,797,504 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,563,395. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $395.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Barclays lifted their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.30.

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.