Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Increased by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 624,684 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $262,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

Microsoft stock opened at $452.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $453.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $421.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $408.52.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The company 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 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.