Private Client Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Private Client Services LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,508 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.5% of Private Client Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Private Client Services LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 117,366 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $49,470,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,090,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Sterneck Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,709,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners raised its stake in Microsoft by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 5,761 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 152.0% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,007 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $408.43 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $428.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $422.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.