SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,632 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,808,000. Microsoft makes up 4.5% of SGL Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $412.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $431.44 and its 200 day moving average is $423.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

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.