Chicago Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 52.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 181,170 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 61,948 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.5% of Chicago Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $68,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $404.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $415.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $275.37 and a 12-month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $432.13.

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.