Cetera Advisor Networks LLC Has $432 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,026,801 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,641 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.1% of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $431,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

Microsoft stock opened at $416.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $435.06 and its 200 day moving average is $422.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued 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 0.72%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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.