Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Financial Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,532 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG raised its position in Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $421.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

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.