Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Focus Financial Network Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 74,807 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.4% of Focus Financial Network Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rebalance LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Innova Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders 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 $435.27 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $420.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

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

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.