Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,395 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.9% of Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in Microsoft by 3.0% in the third quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 1,512,710 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $477,638,000 after buying an additional 44,130 shares during the last quarter. American Planning Services Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 6.8% in the third quarter. American Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Waterford Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 5.9% in the third quarter. Waterford Advisors LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA increased its position in Microsoft by 2.6% in the third quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 17,743 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,602,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Thornton Asset Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 5.2% in the third quarter. Jackson Thornton Asset Management LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,455,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $459.28 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $459.59. The company has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $425.22 and its 200 day moving average is $410.79.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $467.12.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.