Sfm LLC Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Sfm LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 19,624 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $7,367,000. Microsoft makes up about 5.4% of Sfm LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its position in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $510.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $428.49. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $514.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft 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 directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $581.00 price target (up from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $541.79.

Microsoft 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.