Single Point Partners LLC Grows Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Single Point Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,912 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Single Point Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $503.43. The company had a trading volume of 11,313,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,657,394. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $506.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $469.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.41. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.