Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Increased by MFA Wealth Advisors LLC

MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,674 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $882,816,000 after buying an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 389.2% during the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 53,770 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,137,000 after acquiring an additional 42,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Harbor Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $437.39 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $426.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.46.

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.