Phraction Management LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Phraction Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,925 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 4,549 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 6.9% of Phraction Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Phraction Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fosun International Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel increased 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 valued at $1,385,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,368,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $585.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $520.17 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $502.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $441.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.06.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

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.

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