Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Hoxton Planning & Management LLC

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,748 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Hoxton Planning & Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,625,201,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,505,600 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,591,126,000 after buying an additional 277,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their target price 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 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $456.73 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $457.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $424.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $410.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its 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 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 the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, 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 have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.