Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Boosted by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,280 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 2.6% of Naples Global Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Naples Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew 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. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $7.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $498.25. 13,984,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,645,425. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $457.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $500.76. The company has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, 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 data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $524.71.

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.