Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Great Lakes Retirement Inc.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,184 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.3% of Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 241.4% during the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.46.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $437.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $366.50 and a 52-week high of $468.35. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $426.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.26.

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

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

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.