Strategic Financial Partners Ltd. Grows Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Strategic Financial Partners Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFTFree Report) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,713 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 0.8% of Strategic Financial Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Strategic Financial Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $3,314,000. Americana Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 108,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,624,000 after acquiring an additional 6,633 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 84,200 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 36,274 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,609,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fonville Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 13.2% in the third quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,565 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $421.50 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $428.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFTGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.90.

View Our Latest Research Report on MSFT

Microsoft Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFTFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.