Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Has $38.71 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 89,937 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 6.0% of Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $438.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $428.65 and its 200 day moving average is $428.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.90.

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.