Anchor Investment Management LLC Buys 1,697 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,089 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.1% of Anchor Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $43,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $410.54 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $430.11 and a 200-day moving average of $423.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total transaction of $423,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 56,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,931,278.28. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540 in the last quarter. Company 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.