Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Hutchinson Capital Management CA’s 5th Largest Position

Hutchinson Capital Management CA boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,593 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 5,513 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.7% of Hutchinson Capital Management CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Hutchinson Capital Management CA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,090,288 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $602,630,000 after purchasing an additional 13,919 shares in the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 45,429 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,097,000 after purchasing an additional 6,784 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,031 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,266 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $1,229,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 available through this link. In other Microsoft news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,588.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.68.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $328.41 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The company has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $333.23 and a 200 day moving average of $307.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.