Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 28.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,148 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 11,175 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.3% of Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm’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 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $502.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $441.02. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

About Microsoft

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.