Aljian Capital Management LLC Purchases 24,156 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 166.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,647 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 24,156 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.9% of Aljian Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Aljian Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rebalance LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Flagship Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $436.60. The company had a trading volume of 54,224,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,730,301. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $427.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $366.50 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.