Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lifted by Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC

Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,395 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.2% of Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 241.4% during the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,578 shares of company stock valued at $40,553,696. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.36.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $442.62 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $364.13 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $421.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

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.