Stableford Capital II LLC Has $8.86 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Stableford Capital II LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 28.1%, acquiring an additional 5,286 shares, bringing its total to 24,076 shares valued at approximately $8.86 million.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with a payout scheduled for September 11, representing an annualized yield of 0.65%.
• Recent earnings showed that Microsoft reported $3.46 EPS, exceeding expectations by $0.24, with quarterly revenue hitting $70.07 billion, up 13.3% year-over-year.

Stableford Capital II LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 28.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,076 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 5,286 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.7% of Stableford Capital II LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Stableford Capital II LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $513.24. The company had a trading volume of 25,399,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,947,285. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $486.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $433.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $518.29.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective (up from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This 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 valued at $60,224,683 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.