Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Has $90.13 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft by 3.7%, holding $90.13 million worth of the company’s stock, which represents 4.0% of its total holdings.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft shares, with multiple firms adjusting their holdings, including a 386.7% increase by Westend Capital Management.
• Microsoft plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.91 starting December 11th, an increase from the previous $0.83, reflecting a 0.7% yield.

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 181,194 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,881 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.0% of Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $90,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $69,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Melius Research lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

MSFT stock opened at $520.54 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $511.49 and a 200 day moving average of $478.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 24.34%.

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.

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