25 LLC Increases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

25 LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,667 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.5% of 25 LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. 25 LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,755 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 32,707 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,786,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 221,381 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $93,312,000 after purchasing an additional 40,917 shares during the period. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 13,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,659,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 158,122 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $66,648,000 after purchasing an additional 5,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.2 %

MSFT opened at $397.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, 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 Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $420.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $422.62.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total value of $874,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 51,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,675,916.64. This trade represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,070,340 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft 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.