Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,980 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 2.9% of Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $446.95 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $456.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $424.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $409.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price target (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $467.12.

About Microsoft

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.