3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Has $8.26 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 38.8%, acquiring an additional 6,146 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 22,004 shares worth approximately $8.26 million.
• Equity analysts have raised their price targets for Microsoft, with the consensus sitting at $609.86, and thirty-one analysts rating it as a "buy."
• Microsoft's stock has a current market cap of $3.88 trillion and recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.65, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.35.

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 38.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,004 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 6,146 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.2% of 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in 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 Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% in 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 Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $3.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $525.96. 6,328,587 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,198,693. The business's 50-day moving average price is $499.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $439.35. The company has a market cap of $3.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.