Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 165,826 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.0% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $71,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beck Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.4% in the third quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 33,174 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 628.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 309,237 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $133,172,000 after buying an additional 266,766 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP boosted its stake in Microsoft by 123.5% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 36,378 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,100 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,214,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 41,624 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % 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 Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $413.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $432.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

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.