Salomon & Ludwin LLC Grows Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,171 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.5% of Salomon & Ludwin LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Salomon & Ludwin LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $522.48 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $501.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,350 shares of company stock valued at $21,493,447 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.