Frederick Financial Consultants LLC Takes $1.51 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Frederick Financial Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 3,575 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,507,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.2% of Frederick Financial Consultants LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 471.4% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 5,812,933 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,366,153,000 after acquiring an additional 4,795,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,439,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,539 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $474.96 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $480.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $428.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $418.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on Microsoft and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.