Clean Yield Group Has $5.72 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Clean Yield Group increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,570 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 1.8% of Clean Yield Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Clean Yield Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 53,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,203,211.24. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

MSFT opened at $416.13 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $425.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $422.79. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

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.