Haven Capital Group Inc. Invests $3.65 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Haven Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,658 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,649,000. Microsoft comprises about 3.4% of Haven Capital Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,789,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,980,299,000 after purchasing an additional 217,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $0.90 on Wednesday, hitting $459.79. 2,467,567 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,511,920. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $405.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.29. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

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.