Successful Portfolios LLC Acquires 105 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Successful Portfolios LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,121 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.0% of Successful Portfolios LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. High Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Sonen Capital LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sonen Capital LLC now owns 10,132 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc. now owns 937 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Noble Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Noble Family Wealth LLC now owns 2,331 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7 %

Microsoft stock opened at $423.26 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.37 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $414.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $380.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last 90 days. Company 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.