22,788 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Purchased by Williams Financial LLC

Williams Financial LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 22,788 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $9,601,000. Microsoft accounts for about 2.4% of Williams Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 5.2% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 9,725 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd. now owns 16,932 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,124,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 14,071 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.9% in the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,324 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $502.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $432.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $421.01 and a 200-day moving average of $424.70. The company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $334.69 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.11%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.