Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Saxon Interests Inc.

Saxon Interests Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,233 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of Saxon Interests Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first 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 period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $522.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $501.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $440.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $21,493,447 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.