Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Richardson Financial Services Inc.

Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,706 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.6% of Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 241.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $439.33 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $366.50 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $427.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $428.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. dropped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.90.

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.