Hofer & Associates. Inc Has $1.46 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hofer & Associates. Inc boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,871 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 197 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.4% of Hofer & Associates. Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Hofer & Associates. Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 82,267 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,976,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.7% during the third quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction 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 dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $399.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $275.37 and a 12-month high of $430.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $414.86 and its 200 day moving average is $385.79.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.13.

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.