Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV Purchases 159 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,453 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.4% of Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 28,119 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. First County Bank CT increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% during the third quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 21,351 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,741,840 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,470,709,000 after purchasing an additional 96,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darden Wealth Group Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc now owns 18,478 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $442.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $432.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.03. The company has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $548.00 to $540.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Three 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.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.66.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft 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.