Retirement Solution LLC Buys 9,827 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Retirement Solution LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,510 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,827 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.1% of Retirement Solution LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Retirement Solution LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 11.3% during the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 23,189 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 5,971 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,569,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 6.5% in the third quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 24,426 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. bought a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,471,000. Finally, Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 7,352 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,164,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.62.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $417.19 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $429.00 and its 200-day moving average is $426.98. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $384.81 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.