Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Increased by North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc.

North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,907 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.1% of North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $2,645,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $882,816,000 after purchasing an additional 31,401 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% in the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,137,000 after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Harbor Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 55.9% during the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $436.60 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $366.50 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $427.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MSFT shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.46.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.