Meyer Handelman Co. Increases Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 496,655 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,434 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 7.3% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $209,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth $87,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $450.95 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $452.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $421.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $408.52.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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