Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Lifted by Sutton Place Investors LLC

Sutton Place Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 245.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,677 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.9% of Sutton Place Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Sutton Place Investors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,453,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,690 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,584,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 110.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 281,052 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,770,000 after acquiring an additional 147,260 shares during the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 5.2% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 56,524 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.5% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 13,887 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,385,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $410.54. 11,452,630 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,876,303. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $413.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $392.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $306.26 and a 52-week high of $430.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $490.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $452.61.

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.