Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,416 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.1% of Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 634,238,715 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,714,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,129,708 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 295,509,547 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,824,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,554 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 200,523,373 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,810,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537,712 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 556,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $36,017,948,000 after acquiring an additional 150,053,637 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Trading Up 2.5 %
Shares of MSFT stock opened at $327.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $213.43 and a 1-year high of $366.78. The company has a market cap of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $324.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.71.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.07%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Microsoft from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Microsoft from $336.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.34.
Get Our Latest Analysis on MSFT
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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