Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Lifted by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,819 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 3.8% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during 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 period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $404.00 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $424.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $423.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 dividend yield of 0.82%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $23,931,278.28. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.