AlphaQuest LLC Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 57.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,542 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,393 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 7,804 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,315,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 54,205 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $22,848,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $12,728,000. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. now owns 18,649 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,861,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,852 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.16.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $453.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $393.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $412.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.