Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Buys 830 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 21st, 2023

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,133 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.5% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% in 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. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 35,465.9% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,852,000 after acquiring an additional 20,553,188 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 29,789.2% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,570,893 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,477,000 after purchasing an additional 16,515,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. HSBC assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $347.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim raised shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.11.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $326.67 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.91.

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. 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 revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 30.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.