Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP

Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 242,140 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.9% of Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $90,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MSFT opened at $520.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $502.60 and a 200-day moving average of $441.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current 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, beating 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.