Janney Capital Management LLC Acquires 261 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Janney Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,124 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.6% of Janney Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $38,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.8% in the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.58 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $428.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.45. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. 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.