Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 35,846 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $15,109,000. Microsoft comprises about 7.0% of Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,220,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 175,742 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $74,075,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $23,182,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $6,023,000. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,980 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,951,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.01, for a total value of $460,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,647,150.58. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.68.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Trading Up 0.5%
Shares of MSFT opened at $480.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $481.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $436.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $420.16.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS 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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.
Microsoft Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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