Saxon Interests Inc. Grows Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Saxon Interests Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,233 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of Saxon Interests Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fosun International Ltd increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $522.48 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $501.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $21,493,447 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

About Microsoft

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.