Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Has $73.41 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,589 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.8% of Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $73,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% during the third 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 period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.1 %

MSFT stock opened at $442.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $432.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.03. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Microsoft from $548.00 to $540.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.66.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 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.