NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Buys 6,055 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,383 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,055 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.1% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $103,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $505.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.73. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $508.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.14.

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.