Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Boosted by Tarbox Family Office Inc.

Tarbox Family Office Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,183 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 395 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 0.6% of Tarbox Family Office Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Tarbox Family Office Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BayBridge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the third quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% during the third quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,334,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,886 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,254,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Hudock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 12,704 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,467,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. now owns 16,697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,947,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $436.60 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $427.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $428.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen reduced 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.46.

About Microsoft

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.