Hart & Patterson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,969 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,493,000. Microsoft comprises about 0.8% of Hart & Patterson Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant's stock worth $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of MSFT traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $446.34. 17,085,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,937,369. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $450.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day moving average price is $418.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $405.31.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.97%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $480.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $465.83.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MSFT
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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.
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