Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by Strategic Planning Group LLC

Strategic Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 32.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,911 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,230 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.4% of Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,359,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $467.12.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $446.95 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $424.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $410.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $456.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.