United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 6,059 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,177 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,059 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.0% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Rebalance LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Flagship Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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 MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.90.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $424.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $366.50 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $428.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.