HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Makes New $64.39 Million Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 171,218 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $64,385,000. Microsoft comprises about 4.9% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $446.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $450.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $418.59 and its 200-day moving average is $405.81.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.83.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.