Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,806 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,556 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.5% of Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,997 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $414.77 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $426.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $1,077,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares in the company, valued at $23,203,211.24. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft 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.