Xcel Wealth Management LLC Buys 348 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,215 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,426,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,075 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,768,771,000 after buying an additional 1,563,533 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,587,576,000 after buying an additional 45,220 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,890,530,000 after buying an additional 49,288 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,462,919 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,822,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,410 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.43.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $451.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $425.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.76. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $366.50 and a 12-month high of $468.35. 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 $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 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 firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

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.