Jericho Financial LLP Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Jericho Financial LLP increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 13.9%, now holding approximately $6.36 million worth of the stock, making it the firm's fifth largest holding.
• Insiders at Microsoft, including EVP Judson Althoff and EVP Kathleen T. Hogan, recently sold significant shares totaling over $17 million, indicating a decrease in their ownership percentages.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Microsoft, with BMO Capital Markets and others setting targets as high as $650, reflecting strong optimism regarding the company's performance.

Jericho Financial LLP increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,947 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.6% of Jericho Financial LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Jericho Financial LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $9.39 on Friday, hitting $524.11. The company had a trading volume of 28,948,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,331,950. The stock's 50-day moving average is $489.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.88. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 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 analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

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.