K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Raises Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,972 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,626 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.3% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,575 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 9,667 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,321,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the second quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 13,951 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,235,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the second quarter. Sprinkle Financial Consultants LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 86,567 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $38,691,000 after buying an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $416.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $314.00 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $418.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.