Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lifted by GDS Wealth Management

GDS Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,681 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 1.8% of GDS Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% in the second quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 9,930 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,438,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc raised its holdings in Microsoft by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 9,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,282,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,893,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 47,998 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $21,453,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction 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 approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $426.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 2.37 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. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $384.81 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $429.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.72.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.62.

About Microsoft

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.