Highland Capital Management LLC Has $108.28 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 0.4%, bringing its total holdings to 288,455 shares valued at approximately $108.28 million, making it the firm's largest investment.
• Several institutional investors are actively trading Microsoft shares, with Newton One Investments boosting its stake by 66.7% and new positions acquired by others, showcasing increased interest from the market.
• Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, translating to an annual yield of 0.6%, further enhancing its attractiveness to investors.

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,455 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.5% of Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $108,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,949 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. TPG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the first quarter. TPG Advisors LLC now owns 8,156 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 17.1% during the first quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 107,986 shares of the software giant's stock worth $40,537,000 after buying an additional 15,765 shares during the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.5% in the first quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,953 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,361,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 15,000 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,631,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

MSFT stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $522.04. 15,514,819 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,782,852. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $496.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $438.17. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.