Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Key Points

• Blue Trust Inc. has increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 5.4% in the first quarter, owning 103,856 shares now valued at approximately $39 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Newton One Investments LLC and IFS Advisors LLC, have significantly increased their positions in Microsoft during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Microsoft, with numerous ratings upgrades and target prices set as high as $613, indicating strong potential for growth.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,856 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,344 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.5% of Blue Trust Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

MSFT stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $513.24. 25,399,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,947,285. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $433.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $518.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Barclays boosted their price target on Microsoft from $494.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $581.00 price target (up from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.86.

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.