HS Management Partners LLC Has $58.08 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• HS Management Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, now owning approximately $58.08 million worth of the stock.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Microsoft, with several institutions giving it a "buy" rating and a consensus price target of $612.54.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, amounting to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%, highlighted by a payout ratio of 24.34%.

HS Management Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,718 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 9,680 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.7% of HS Management Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. HS Management Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $58,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% during 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 acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $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 lifted its stake in Microsoft by 9.8% during the fourth 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 valued at $25,273,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,370,546 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

Microsoft stock traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $503.24. The company had a trading volume of 6,865,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,182,225. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $509.48 and its 200-day moving average is $448.93. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.