Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Lifted by Longbow Finance SA

Longbow Finance SA grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,484 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,487 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 7.1% of Longbow Finance SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Longbow Finance SA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $66,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% during the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 126 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $490.00 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $509.01 and a 200-day moving average of $501.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $500.00 target price (down from $560.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Arete increased their target price on Microsoft from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.33.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.