New Perspectives Inc Makes New Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

New Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 816 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $343,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.2% of New Perspectives Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MSFT traded up $7.28 on Friday, hitting $406.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,640,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,152,042. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $414.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $387.70. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $295.25 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $465.00 price objective (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.