Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Has $18.31 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,781 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 5,027 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.7% of Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $1,375,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.79.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

Microsoft stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $510.05. The stock had a trading volume of 21,120,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,618,181. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $477.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.04. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $514.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.