Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lowered by Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC

Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 298,533 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 135,863 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.7% of Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $112,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 647.8% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $0.52 on Thursday, hitting $441.58. The stock had a trading volume of 15,944,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,036,789. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $443.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average price is $417.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $404.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $465.83.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 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.