Other institutional investors have made notable moves with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ
Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, purchasing a stake valued at approximately $45,000. Meanwhile, Richardson Capital Management LLC significantly increased its holding by 1,290.0% in the first quarter, now owning 139 shares worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares. Neo Ivy Capital Management also entered the fray, purchasing a new stake valued at about $58,000 during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position by 23.7% in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, now holding 188 shares valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC established a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter, investing approximately $80,000. Overall, hedge funds and other institutional investors now collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding shares.
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Analysts Set New Price Targets Microsoft
Several brokerages have updated their recommendations on MSFT. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a target price of $480.00 on Microsoft in a research report dated Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price from $440.00 to $470.00 and maintained an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report released on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target from $465.00 to $550.00, giving Microsoft a “buy” rating on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson also reaffirmed a “buy” rating with a $500.00 price target on Microsoft stock in a research note dated Friday, March 15th. Lastly, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on Microsoft in a report published on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three analysts currently rate the stock as “hold,” while thirty-three have assigned it a “buy” rating. MarketBeat.com data shows an average rating of “Moderate Buy” for Microsoft with a consensus price target of $470.86.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In related news, Chief Marketing Officer Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of MSFT stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, totaling $101,389.32. Following this sale, Numoto now holds 47,011 shares valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. Another insider, Executive Vice President Judson Althoff, sold 25,000 shares of MSFT on Thursday, May 23rd, at an average price of $425.68, amounting to $10,642,000.00. After this transaction, Althoff owns 104,949 shares valued at $44,674,690.32. Details of these insider sales were disclosed in filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission, available through this link. Combined insider transactions over the past three months involved the sale of 25,566 shares, totaling $10,877,535. Insiders currently hold 0.03% of Microsoft’s total outstanding stock.
Microsoft Trading Overview
Micro shares opened at $453.55 on Friday. The company’s 52-week trading range spans from a low of $309.45 to a high of $468.35. With a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, MSFT has a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.27, a PEG ratio of 2.20, and a beta of 0.89. The firm maintains a 50-day moving average price of $435.94 and a 200-day moving average of $415.77. Microsoft boasts a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23, alongside a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.
Microsoft Recent Earnings and Dividend Announcement
On Thursday, April 25th, Micro reported earnings per share of $2.94 for the quarter, surpassing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The company achieved revenue of $61.86 billion, outperforming the expected $60.86 billion. Microsoft recorded a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%, with quarterly revenue up 17.0% year-over-year. In the corresponding quarter last year, MSFT reported earnings per share of $2.45. Sell-side analysts anticipate Microsoft will post earnings per share of $11.77 for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend, payable on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will receive a dividend of $0.75 per share. This equates to an annualized dividend of $3.00 and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date for this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Currently, Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio stands at 25.97%.
Microsoft Company Overview
Microt 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.
