Private Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Private Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,997 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,110 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 6.0% of Private Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $50,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $18,196,000. LifePro Asset Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 608.2% in the third quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 10,269 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,419,000 after acquiring an additional 8,819 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 23,719 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 132,147 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $56,863,000 after acquiring an additional 23,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Selective Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,370 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,812,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.2 %

MSFT opened at $427.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $362.90 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $421.54 and its 200 day moving average is $426.44. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Microsoft 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.