Zhang Financial LLC Buys 366 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,674 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Zhang Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,087,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 32,669 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,285,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,687,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Prism Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Prism Advisors Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,731 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,829,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $438.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.98, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $421.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

About Microsoft

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.