Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Boosted by ProVise Management Group LLC

ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 91,595 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.5% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $40,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 13,442 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 12,727 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,355,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.5% in the first quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,849 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.9% during the first quarter. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. now owns 17,279 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the first quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,769 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $34,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $411.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $353.35 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $420.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

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.