Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275,383 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,055 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.1% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $103,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $505.82 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $508.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $473.43 and a 200-day moving average of $426.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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.