Summit Global Investments Has $26.86 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,177 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,471 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 2.1% of Summit Global Investments’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Affiance Financial LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Rede Wealth LLC boosted 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 worth $2,783,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. now owns 3,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Teri List sold 1,250 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total value of $418,462.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,588.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $328.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $333.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $213.43 and a 12 month high of $366.78. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.07%.

Microsoft Company 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.