Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Silver Oak Securities Incorporated

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 26.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,790 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,153 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 0.9% of Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rebalance LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.46.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $436.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $366.50 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $427.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.42.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 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.