Ignite Planners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,382 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.3% of Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in 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 buying an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,322,513,000 after buying an additional 652,493 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,567,258,000 after buying an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after purchasing an additional 406,940 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $1,077,175.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares in the company, valued at $23,203,211.24. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $408.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $425.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $422.88. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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.