Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,680 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 7,039 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.8% of GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $49,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 82,603 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $37,938,000 after buying an additional 5,856 shares in the last quarter. Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $33,215,000. Bennett Selby Investments LP increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 18,666 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,343,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% during the second quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 36,417 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,277,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $430.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.37 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 quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $428.90 and a 200 day moving average of $428.87.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors 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 repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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 research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

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.