Value Partners Investments Inc. Has $40.54 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 776.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,882 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 95,575 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.5% of Value Partners Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $40,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded up $1.20 on Friday, reaching $522.04. The stock had a trading volume of 15,514,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,343,549. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $495.59 and a 200 day moving average of $437.64. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush increased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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.