Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Quantum Private Wealth LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Quantum Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,482 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.5% of Quantum Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Quantum Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 430,730 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $192,515,000 after acquiring an additional 8,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.4% during the second quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 156,258 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $69,840,000 after acquiring an additional 5,176 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.79 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $421.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,431 shares of company stock valued at $85,796,688 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

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.