Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co Acquires 3,710 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,495 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.8% of Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $259,539,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,314,509 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $421.92 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $398.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $440.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman’s Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing ‘compelling’ valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).