Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 29,272 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $12,596,000. Microsoft accounts for 1.3% of Entropy Technologies LP's holdings, making the stock its biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.53.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT traded up $4.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $429.03. 26,146,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,404,662. The firm's 50 day moving average is $429.19 and its 200-day moving average is $426.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. 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 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.