Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,313,927 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 96,053 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.6% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $446,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 111.7% in the first quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% during the first quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 57.5% during the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Microsoft Trading Up 1.2 %
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.34.
Get Our Latest Analysis on MSFT
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.
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