Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 42,556 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.1% of Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.4% in the third quarter. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,388 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $22,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,500 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,100,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Boston Standard Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.5% during the third quarter. Boston Standard Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the software giant's stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 11.3% in the third quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 14,586 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,276,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Microsoft by 16.5% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 215,466 shares of the software giant's stock worth $92,715,000 after buying an additional 30,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.49 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $362.90 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business's 50 day moving average price is $422.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.