Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Increased by 626 Financial LLC

626 Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,509 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.0% of 626 Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. 626 Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atwater Malick LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.6% during the first quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 19,824 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,442,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,832,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 63,752 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,932,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the period. Safeguard Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC now owns 8,457 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,175,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.7% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $498.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $459.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $423.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $500.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.71.

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.