Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 628.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 309,237 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 266,766 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $133,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atom Investors LP raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 20,100 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $21,214,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 41,624 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,615,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,975,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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 research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $413.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $432.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value 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. The trade was a 4.82 % 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 three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.