Global Trust Asset Management LLC Has $6.29 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,062 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.5% of Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 518,005 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $194,790,000 after purchasing an additional 247,609 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,807 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,746,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Williams & Novak LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,031,000. Finally, Optas LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 26,062 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,800,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $417.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $431.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $422.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. New Street Research began coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.