Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Center For Asset Management LLC

Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 41.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,919 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,778 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.4% of Center For Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Center For Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% during the second quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $601,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% during the third 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 during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8 %

MSFT opened at $404.27 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $415.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $384.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $275.37 and a 12 month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.13.

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.