Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Boosts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,424 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,255,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its stake in Microsoft by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $449.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $419.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $407.17. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $450.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $467.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.