VERITY Wealth Advisors Purchases 312 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

VERITY Wealth Advisors raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,141 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.0% of VERITY Wealth Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. VERITY Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sicart Associates LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Sicart Associates LLC now owns 926 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $445.70 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $419.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $406.37. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $450.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.83.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Microsoft

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.