Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lifted by Boit C F David

Boit C F David grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,704 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.9% of Boit C F David’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Boit C F David’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,255,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,245 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $406.32 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $414.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $388.51. 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 1-year low of $295.25 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 38.87%. The company’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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

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.