Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Oak Asset Management LLC

Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 59.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,921 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,917 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.2% of Oak Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Oak Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $565.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $524.71.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $491.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $457.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $423.04. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $500.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.

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