Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,800 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.5% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This 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 worth $24,921,913 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $524.94 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $494.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $437.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp raised Microsoft from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $630.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.