Heirloom Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Heirloom Wealth Management has increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation by 3.2%, acquiring an additional 1,658 shares, bringing its total ownership to 53,554 shares valued at approximately $20.1 million.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 21, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%.
• Wall Street analysts project strong growth for Microsoft, with price targets raised; the stock has an average target price of $609.86 and is rated as a "Moderate Buy" by most analysts.

Heirloom Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,554 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.8% of Heirloom Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Heirloom Wealth Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103,212 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $522.04. 15,514,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,782,852. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $496.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $438.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week 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 issued 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.