Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 652,493 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 3.9% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.64% of Microsoft worth $20,322,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $447.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $431.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.08. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.66.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.