Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Live Oak Investment Partners

Live Oak Investment Partners raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,997 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.1% of Live Oak Investment Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Live Oak Investment Partners’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $527.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $492.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $436.40.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Mizuho increased their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.86.

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.