Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Pacific Center for Financial Services

Pacific Center for Financial Services lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 19.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,162 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 858 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 0.6% of Pacific Center for Financial Services’ portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Pacific Center for Financial Services’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $409.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $431.44 and its 200-day moving average is $423.56.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

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.