Hamilton Capital Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hamilton Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,589 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 9,640 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 9.7% of Hamilton Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Hamilton Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st 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. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st 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 bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. 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 three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

MSFT stock opened at $513.71 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $483.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $431.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $518.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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. 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 is currently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $494.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $551.21.

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.

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