Guardian Investment Management Increases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Guardian Investment Management grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,955 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.8% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded up $4.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $465.55. 5,802,740 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,650,561. The company has a 50-day moving average of $428.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $412.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $467.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

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.