Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Global Wealth Strategies & Associates

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,143 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 0.4% of Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after acquiring an additional 38,422,466 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47,196.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 4,834,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,160,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,824,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 67.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,963,863 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,566,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404,348 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 46.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,032,859,000 after buying an additional 2,222,483 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $408.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G 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 $428.76 and a 200-day moving average of $422.94. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

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.