Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lifted by James Hambro & Partners LLP

James Hambro & Partners LLP boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 360,861 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 6.5% of James Hambro & Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $155,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 62.0% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 113,168 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,612,000 after purchasing an additional 43,327 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 35,888 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,099,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,948 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,344,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,956 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,975,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.43.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $447.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $364.13 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $424.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.63.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for 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 revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.