Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is GSB Wealth Management LLC’s 6th Largest Position

GSB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,479 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 783 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.9% of GSB Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 24,725 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,051,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC now owns 7,752 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,465,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 47.1% during the second quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 846 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Gill Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,941 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,102,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $430.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $366.50 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $428.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $428.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.