Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. Buys 235 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,514 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 8.0% of Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Biechele Royce Advisors increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Biechele Royce Advisors now owns 3,792 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 59,484 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $26,586,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 85,899 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $38,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 922,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $412,150,000 after purchasing an additional 7,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equita Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 42.4% during the 2nd quarter. Equita Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $416.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $417.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.63. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.