Hardy Reed LLC Purchases 597 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hardy Reed LLC increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,741 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 597 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 1.0% of Hardy Reed LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $415.06 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $432.53 and its 200-day moving average is $424.61.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

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.