Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Richelieu Gestion SA

Richelieu Gestion SA raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,528 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.8% of Richelieu Gestion SA’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Richelieu Gestion SA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners grew its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sicart Associates LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price objective (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2 %

MSFT opened at $456.73 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $457.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $424.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $410.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share 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 business 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 earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft 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.