Procyon Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Posted by on Oct 5th, 2023

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,038 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,944 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.0% of Procyon Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,553,188 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 29,789.2% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,570,893 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,477,000 after purchasing an additional 16,515,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,638,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652,150 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $318.96 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $325.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.01. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Microsoft from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Guggenheim raised Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. HSBC started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $347.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.34.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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