Exchange Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,953 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.4% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Affiance Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 10,362 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,988,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,898 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Rede Wealth LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Rede Wealth LLC now owns 9,653 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. now owns 3,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterford Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Waterford Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total transaction of $418,462.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,588.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of MSFT stock opened at $316.48 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $335.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.90.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.07%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Microsoft from $280.00 to $322.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. 888 reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $425.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.68.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business; Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn; and Dynamics 365, a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprise divisions.
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