Clarity Financial LLC Buys 37,623 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 18th, 2023

Clarity Financial LLC increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1,337.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,435 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,623 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Clarity Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,469 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $351,001,000 after acquiring an additional 196,338 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.85.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2 %

Microsoft stock opened at $332.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $325.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $322.52.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.96%.

Microsoft Company Profile

(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.