Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires 914 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,329 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 914 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $53,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $414.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $432.55 and its 200 day moving average is $424.95. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.40 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.72.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft 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 transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft 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.