Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Opinicus Capital Inc.

Opinicus Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,003 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.5% of Opinicus Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Opinicus Capital Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 2nd 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 during 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 valued at $4,282,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $5,893,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % 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 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $426.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $384.81 and a fifty-two 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $429.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 upped their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.62.

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.