Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Buys 2,807 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 53,634 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,807 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.3% of Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OMC Financial Services LTD bought a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth $9,944,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,794 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,776,000 after acquiring an additional 4,512 shares during the period. Clear Rock Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,049,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 54,555 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $22,953,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 615,400 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $258,911,000 after purchasing an additional 42,600 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $416.79 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $309.45 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $435.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $422.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $506.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.