Liberty Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,411 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.1% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $503.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $471.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.18. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $506.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.14.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.