Counterweight Ventures LLC Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Counterweight Ventures LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,144 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,191,000. Microsoft accounts for 3.8% of Counterweight Ventures LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, reaching $442.57. 13,581,985 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,602,950. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $417.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $404.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $443.40.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $465.83.

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.