Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Harmony Asset Management LLC

Harmony Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,895 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,915 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.4% of Harmony Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 3,158 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 11.2% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 46,921 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,190,000 after purchasing an additional 4,720 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 204.8% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 120,129 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $51,691,000 after acquiring an additional 80,720 shares during the period. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the third quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,283 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1,154.3% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 939,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $404,373,000 after acquiring an additional 864,822 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $415.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $431.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.85.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.