Lakewood Asset Management LLC Purchases 840 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,675 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.2% of Lakewood Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Lakewood Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded up $7.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $406.32. The stock had a trading volume of 29,640,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $414.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $387.70. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $295.25 and a one year high of $430.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.61.

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.