Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Reduced by Hilton Capital Management LLC

Hilton Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 90,719 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 21,009 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.0% of Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after buying an additional 18,544 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $882,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $509.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $548.00 to $540.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.66.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $444.06 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $431.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft 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.