Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Buys 182 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,930 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.1% of Hoxton Planning & Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,088 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 103,199 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $38,807,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares during the period. MontVue Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $549,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 25,066 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,426,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9 %

Microsoft stock opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.73. 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 market cap of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Argus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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.