Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Has $5.41 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,862 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.2% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2 %

MSFT opened at $452.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $456.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $422.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $408.83.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’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 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.