As of their most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Emerald Advisers LLC has increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. This comes after the firm purchased an additional 1,419 shares bringing their total ownership to 23,101 shares worth $5,540,000 at the close of the quarter. The software giant made headlines last week for disclosing its quarterly dividend, which will be paid out on June 8th. Shareholders of record as of May 18th can expect a dividend payout of $0.68 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.72 and a yield of .88%.
The market has been paying keen attention to Microsoft shares lately with numerous research firms issuing reports analyzing them. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target from $285 to $350 on April 26th while Cowen recently dropped theirs from $285 to $280 on January 19th and Raymond James raised theirs from $310 to $320 that same day. Rosenblatt Securities gave Microsoft a buy rating and upped their price target from $275 to $310.
Despite there being only one analyst rating the stock as sell and four holding it at hold; thirty-two have issued buy ratings leaving an average rating currently set as “Moderate Buy” according to data on Bloomberg.com. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is notably strong at present which makes this particular lottery ticket even more appealing.
Microsoft’s popularity in the tech industry cannot be understated and their continued expansion into new areas continues unabated; setting them up nicely for sustained growth and attracting investors looking for safe options within an always volatile space such as tech. As we witness yet another year progress, those interested in investing in companies known for venturing into innovative groundbreaking ventures continue realizing that few represent better options than does Microsoft whose future prospects remain very promising.
Financial Health
Very Healthy
Debt to equity ratio: Buy
Price to earnings ratio: Strong Buy
Price to book ratio: Strong Buy
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Date:16 May, 2023
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Microsoft Posts Strong Earnings and Attracts Institutional Investors
Microsoft Posts Strong Earnings and Continues to Attract Institutional Investors
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently announced its quarterly earnings report, with impressive results that exceeded expectations. The software giant recorded an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.45 for the quarter, a $0.23 increase exceeding consensus estimates of $2.22 EPS. This achievement was coupled with an overall revenue of approximately $52.86 billion for the period, a 7.1% increase from last year’s figure of $51.01 billion.
Furthermore, some top institutional investors and hedge funds have shown great interest in investing in Microsoft stock over the past year. Monumental Financial Group Inc purchased a new position valued at around $28,000 during Q1 while Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position worth roughly $26,000 in Q4 of 2022.
Hanseatic Management Services Inc., which already had massive holdings in Microsoft, increased its stake in the company by 71.4% in Q3 of 2022 and now owns 132 shares valued at around $31,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period.
Retirement Financial Solutions LLC also added to their portfolio by acquiring a new position worth about $40,000 during Q4, while PayPay Securities Corp bought a new stake valued at approximately $54,000 during the same period.
Additionally, on May 1st 2023 EVP Judson Althoff sold 30k shares topping out at an incredible total transaction value of approximately $9,182,700 million USD; following this sale he directly owned around ~$35 million USD according to financial filings with the SEC.
CEO Satya Nadella also cashed out some stocks recently as he sold off 4,767 shares that were worth close to ~$1 million USD on Feb 28th earlier this year.
Insiders have been selling Microsoft shares too, with 44,767 shares worth $13,462,861 sold in the past 3 months alone; this represents just 0.03% of the grand total available.
Despite these insider sells, Microsoft’s stock remains attractive to a wide range of investors. The company recently declared a quarterly dividend that will be paid on June 8th to all shareholders who are registered as of May 18th. These eligible shareholders will be issued a dividend payout of $0.68 per share for each Microsoft share held.
At present(N/D), NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $309.46 and has a market cap of an astounding $2.30 trillion USD; while its P/E ratio at present is standing at roughly 33.53, its PEG ratio is recording at about 2:75 with a beta of around .93 presenting strong prospects for potential investment opportunities.
Renowned for its technological advancements and applications across different software spaces such as its Windows OS series, Azure and a range of other offerings & services; Microsoft’s stock continues to soar impressively against many predictions from analysts worldwide.
In conclusion, despite the current economic climate which may affect some aspects of the business world negatively as this report shows strong support exists within institutional investors and hedge funds alike because they continue to invest heavily in the company – suggesting increased confidence in the company’s potential growth trajectory moving forward.