Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,190,595 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 459,906 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 3.0% of Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,372,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optivise Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,546,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 170,589 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $73,405,000 after buying an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% during the third quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 14,540 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,257,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 14,668 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,312,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.3% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,962 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,145,000 after buying an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Stock Down 1.1 %
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.66.
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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.
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