Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Quilter Plc's Largest Position

Quilter Plc boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,041,040 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 15,086 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 8.1% of Quilter Plc's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Quilter Plc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $390,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the first quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 81,583 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.6% during the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 814,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $305,790,000 after acquiring an additional 28,543 shares during the last quarter. Legacy CG LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the first quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 17,408 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,535,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 7.7% during the first quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,013 shares of the software giant's stock worth $22,748,000 after buying an additional 4,428 shares during the period. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 10.6% during the first quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the software giant's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2%

MSFT opened at $522.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $496.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $438.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Microsoft

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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