Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lifted by Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,345 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.6% of Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co grew its position in Microsoft by 157.0% in the first quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its position in Microsoft by 57.5% in the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Wedbush increased their target price on Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.11.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $369.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $219.35 and a 1 year high of $376.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $336.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.13 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

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.