K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Sells 31,031 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 40.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,020 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 31,031 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.4% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

Microsoft stock traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $522.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,172,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,226,391. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $500.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $439.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, 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 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush raised their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.