Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Trimmed by Northern Financial Advisors Inc

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 21st, 2023

Northern Financial Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,791 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.6% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,396,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 10,761 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,665,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Planning Center Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 24.4% in the second quarter. Planning Center Inc. now owns 4,849 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in Microsoft by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 1,518,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $437,855,000 after acquiring an additional 94,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 868,980 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $295,161,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $326.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $322.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.43 and a fifty-two week high of $366.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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 yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $385.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Loop Capital started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Partners reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.11.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.