Keystone Financial Planning Inc. Has $11.66 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Keystone Financial Planning Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,718 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.8% of Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

MSFT opened at $449.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $309.45 and a 1-year high of $450.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $419.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $407.44.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Microsoft 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.