Wormser Freres Gestion Has $7.86 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wormser Freres Gestion raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 82.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,412 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,322 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.7% of Wormser Freres Gestion’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Wormser Freres Gestion’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 147.9% during the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $480.24 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $481.00. The company has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.74.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.