Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,663 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.5% of Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 634,238,715 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $147,714,197,000 after buying an additional 6,129,708 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 295,509,547 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,824,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,554 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 195,859,819 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $50,302,677,000 after buying an additional 556,020 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,017,948,000 after buying an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,731,177 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $34,172,705,000 after buying an additional 3,268,917 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $345.24 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $329.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.05. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $213.43 and a 52-week high of $351.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.92.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 29.47%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.09, for a total value of $9,182,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,952,107.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Christopher C. Capossela sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.70, for a total value of $1,543,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 105,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,477,092.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.09, for a total value of $9,182,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,952,107.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,331 shares of company stock valued at $15,867,278 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Atlantic Securities upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Microsoft from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on Microsoft from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Microsoft from $348.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Microsoft from $335.00 to $415.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.40.
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business; Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn; and Dynamics 365, a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprise divisions.
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