Barrier Capital Management LLC Makes New $19.59 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Barrier Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 39,393 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $19,594,000. Microsoft accounts for about 13.4% of Barrier Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second 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 period. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $478.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $504.05 and a 200-day moving average of $502.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Microsoft to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (down previously from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $682.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $632.34.

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.