Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,870 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.8% of Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second 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 last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% in 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, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $511.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was 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 owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $422.37 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $428.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $427.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $369.01 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.