3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Chilton Investment Company’s Stake Value: $340,522,000
Percentage of Chilton Investment Company’s 13F Portfolio: 7.15%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
Billionaire Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company owns more than 1 million Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares as of Q4 2021, worth $340.5 million, representing 7.15% of the total 13F holdings. The hedge fund first invested in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) back in Q4 2010, and has consistently held the position since Q3 2015.
On April 26, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported its Q1 2022 results, posting earnings per share of $2.22, beating market estimates by $0.02. Revenue for the period grew 18.35% year-over-year to $49.36 billion, above consensus by $311.18 million.
It was announced on April 28 that Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI)’s stockholders approved Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s acquisition proposal. More than 98% of the shareholders voted in favor of the proposed transaction with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). It will be an all-cash transaction for $95.00 per share and it is expected to close in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.
Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss on April 27 maintained an Overweight rating and a $372 price target on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares after the company’s fiscal Q1 results. According to the analyst, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has strong commercial bookings growth, accelerating Azure growth, and “robust” guidance for Q4 and FY23. Given what he sees as an “attractive multiple,” he remains a buyer at present levels.
Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 262 funds were bullish on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of December 2021, compared to 250 funds in the preceding quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital is a prominent shareholder of the company, with a position worth $5.7 billion.
Here is what Baron Opportunity Fund has to say about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Shares of Microsoft Corporation, a cloud-software leader and provider of software productivity tools and infrastructure, rose during the quarter, following a strong earnings report highlighting solid demand for its broad product stack and continued momentum migrating its business to the cloud. Microsoft’s results continued to be strong across the board, with total revenue growing 20% in constant currency, beating Street estimates by 3%; an acceleration in Commercial Cloud revenue to 34% constant-currency growth; operating margins expanding to just under 45%; earnings growth of 23%; and free cash flow growth of 30%. We believe the company is positioned to deliver 13% to 15% organic growth over the next three years, underpinned by total addressable market expansion and continued market share gains across its disruptive cloud product portfolio.”
