Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 15.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,726 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $882,816,000 after buying an additional 31,401 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 55.9% in the second quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 430,730 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $192,515,000 after buying an additional 8,290 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.4% in the second quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 156,258 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $69,840,000 after buying an additional 5,176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $417.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $421.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $362.90 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 183,431 shares of company stock worth $74,956,968. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

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.