Accent Capital Management LLC Takes $11.67 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 31,031 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,669,000. Microsoft makes up 9.2% of Accent Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.83.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $446.34 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $418.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $405.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $450.94.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 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 analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.