Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Purchases New Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 62,153 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $23,332,000. Microsoft accounts for 4.3% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.14.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $505.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $473.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.73. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $508.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.