Fortem Financial Group LLC Purchases 48 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,705 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.0% of Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth $16,787,000. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 13.2% in the third quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC now owns 705 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 40,586 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the period. Continental Investors Services Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.2% in the third quarter. Continental Investors Services Inc. now owns 2,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% in the third quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 15,667 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,741,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $409.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $430.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $423.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.