Modera Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 419,518 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,940 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.3% of Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $180,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $435.25 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $427.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

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.