9,976 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bought by PFW Advisors LLC

PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,976 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $4,205,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.3% of PFW Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.9 %

MSFT stock opened at $408.25 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $425.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $422.69. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 53,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,203,211.24. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,820. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.